Nov 30, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) drives to shoot against the Atlanta Hawks in the fourth quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Joel Embiid and VJ Edgecombe returned. Paul George, Tyrese Maxey and Embiid played together for the first time this season. But the Sixers fell to the Atlanta Hawks in double overtime despite a heroic effort from Maxey.
Here are six thoughts on the loss.
The big guy was listed 'out' on the initial injury report for this game, which came out at 5:30 p.m., Eastern time, on Saturday. He was upgraded to 'questionable' by noon on Sunday and deemed available to play after his pregame warmup.
The Embiid that usually takes the court after a prolonged layoff is often the worst version of him. But it was Embiid's presence that reminded even his most staunch detractors that his best may be worth the frustration of his availability.
Embiid shot 4-for-6 en route to 11 points in almost 13 minutes of play in the first half. He didn't lord over the game with his box-score contributions. He did, however, give you something to write home about with how sharp he looked.
The Hawks tried to crowd Embiid with multiple bodies. They tried to strike when he put the ball on the floor in tight spaces.
Embiid was ready for it.
Not only was his touch pristine, but his reads of the court were strong, too. He set teammates up inside and out. The chemistry he has with Maxey is a staple of everything Philadelphia does, and his good buddy knows not to stray too far from the post one pass away.
When Atlanta crowded Embiid in the post, he quickly got off the ball to send the Hawks into a blender of defensive rotations. Philadelphia hot-potato'd the ball around the floor, looking for the teammate left open by the second body going to Embiid.
He didn't just trust Maxey. Embiid got everyone involved. He threw the ball all over the court, quarterbacking the offense from the middle of the floor. He led McCain into a drive by pushing the DHO pass a few feet out in front of him. Embiid drove the ball off the wing and chucked it out to Quentin Grimes when the Hawks sent the extra body toward no. 21. He found cutters flashing to the lane, and even opened Dominick Barlow for a shot at the rim by drawing his man away for a double and then making the pass to his fellow blue jersey.
He wasn't perfect. The defense is still well behind the offense, and it's anyone's best guess as to whether he'll ever recover that. But the athleticism and skill had the offense humming.
He would have had a double-double with assists comfortably, and the Sixers would have won the game in regulation, had the collective not shot an abysmal 9-for-38 from three.
As the game wore on, the confidence he had early began to wane. He did not have touch on his jumper as the fourth quarter ticked down to overtime. Embiid was clearly timid in crunch time. But it's impossible to say how much of that was fatigue related after playing a season high in minutes after the layoff.
George's inconsistent availability is as much about the inability to develop chemistry as it is about the absence of his skill. You saw the Sixers living in two different dimensions when he was on the court in this game.
On one hand, he functions as a spacer on the weak side of the floor. George's reputation keeps helpers from pinching on the driving lane. He either gets the look from three or he doesn't.
The other hand is a George isolation while everyone spaces to the weak side of the floor.
The only way to sharpen a two-man game like the one Embiid and Maxey have is by investing hours of repetitions. It may never get there between the three of Maxey, George and Embiid. But there's no reason why the Sixers can't prey on switches by having George screen for Maxey or vice versa.
With some more structure, it wouldn't be that difficult to get the big three playing off of each other, either.
Not that he had an extended absence, but the Sixers felt Edgecombe missing over the last few games. He tortures driving lanes and counter moves, waiting for the ball-handler to bring the rock his way before peeling off his assignment just in time to disrupt the possession.
He ripped the ball from more experienced Hawks, wrestling it away from firm grasps or bullying it out of the handler's grip on spin moves. Edgecombe blew up dribbles with timely reach-ins and put himself in position to intercept bad passes in help.
Every team needs a Dominick Barlow. A near afterthought on offense, a jack-of-all-trades on defense. Atlanta did its best to stretch him out when he took multiple steps away from shooters in help. But he still got back when the ball swung to his man and got a hand in the line of sight as the shot went up.
It wasn't just the stretched-out contests. Barlow picked up three steals and recorded a monstrous block late in the game to prevent a Hawks score at the rim.
He can't set the nets on fire every night, and Maxey struggled on Sunday. But he didn't let the perimeter game dictate his aggression. Maxey got to the rim practically at will all night long. That is a remarkable feat when Dyson Daniels is attached to you at the hip. 52 minutes for Maxey in this game. 44 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. His rim pressure made up for the inaccurate three-point shooting, Maxey getting to the line for 17 free throws in the game.
His craft at the rim has taken a leap, Maxey now finding ways to get the ball over the rim at wild angles to earn the bucket or give himself a chance at the hoop and the harm. He had three consecutive three-point plays in the fourth quarter as the Sixers fought back into the game.
His only blemishes were six turnovers and two missed free throws at the end of the first overtime. He telegraphed a couple of passes across the floor, the Hawks picking them off for transition opportunities. The two missed free throws, it turns out, spelled the difference between a win in overtime and five more minutes of basketball.
The plan for Edgecombe was roughly clear. Around 20 minutes. George got 28. Embiid was capped at 30. He played the entirety of overtime before being removed for the second overtime. That's a relatively significant ask for a guy who hadn't played basketball in three weeks. The Sixers have managed him quite conservatively this season, but seemed to let the rope go a bit late in this game.
