Maxey Drops 28, Embiid's Fourth-Quarter Three Seals PHI's 106-100 Win

Tyrese Maxey posted 28 points, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks as Philadelphia beat New York 106-100 on October 20. The decisive moment came with 3:31 left in the fourth quarter, when Joel Embiid drained a 25-foot three — assisted by Jaylen Brown — swinging New York's win probability from 37% all the way down to 24%.

Philadelphia jumped out fast. Maxey opened the scoring with a 28-foot three off an Embiid assist, then added a 26-foot running pullup to make it 6-0 before New York had found the basket. The Sixers led 14-10 midway through the first, but New York clawed back — OG Anunoby's dunk tied it at 14, Andre Drummond's interior bucket flipped it to 16-14, and a Miles McBride three-pointer off a Landry Shamet feed pushed the Knicks to 19-16. Philadelphia answered with back-to-back buckets from Anfernee Simons to retake the lead, only for Jalen Brunson to drill an 8-foot floater at the buzzer and send New York into the second quarter up 25-23.

The second quarter belonged to New York's bench. Jose Alvarado hit a 23-foot three, Landry Shamet connected from 27 feet, and Jordan Clarkson scored twice in quick succession to push the Knicks' lead to 40-28 — their largest of the half. Philadelphia chipped away through Maxey and Embiid, but the deficit looked like it could become a problem. That's where the story of the night really starts: the Sixers, it appears, never panicked. Maxey kept finding ways to score, Jaylen Brown contributed 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, and LeBron James — quiet by his standards with 14 points — quietly distributed 7 assists and grabbed 9 rebounds to keep Philadelphia's engine running.

Karl-Anthony Towns was a force for New York, finishing with 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Brunson led the Knicks with 21. But Philadelphia's defense — Maxey's 3 steals and 3 blocks alone tell part of that story — appears to have worn New York down in the fourth. The knockout blow was Embiid's 25-footer at the 3:31 mark, Jaylen Brown with the assist, collapsing New York's win probability from 37% to 24% in a single possession. The Sixers closed it out from there, 106-100. Nine players sat out as coach's decisions between the two rosters, so both teams were working with tighter rotations than usual — which, if anything, makes Philadelphia's second-half comeback look more controlled, not less.