Brings a whole new meaning to Philly Special, huh?

Today’s Lineup

🎉 Happy birthday to Larry Sanders, Stromile Swift, and Chris Chiozza! 🎉

Game Recaps

Maxey’s career-high 54 PTS leads Sixers over Bucks 123-114 in OT

Tyrese Maxey, the league is on notice.

Philadelphia’s star guard had a career-best performance last night in the 76ers’ overtime win over Milwaukee, dropping 54 points to go along with nine assists, five rebounds, three steals, and three blocks. Maxey’s big night overshadowed the return of Paul George (21 PTS, 5 REB), who said he “felt good” after playing in his first game since March, but we’re sure PG is happy with the win.

Maxey had Philly in control throughout the first half, but the Giannis-less Bucks captured the lead after a hot start coming out of the break. Ryan Rollins (32 PTS, 14 AST, 6 REB) delivered another great start in what’s shaping up to be his breakout season, and Gary Trent Jr. and AJ Green shot the ball well for Milwaukee, but this one was a little sloppy on offense for both sides.

That is, except for Maxey. He helped the Sixers take control back from the Bucks in the fourth quarter and overtime, keeping Philly out of the play-in band and recording his fourth career 50-point game in the process.

Vooch hits walk-off three, Bulls beat Trail Blazers 122-121

Even though they’ve cooled off from their hot start, the Bulls are still finding crazy ways to win games. Case in point: this Nikola Vucevic game-winning buzzer-beating three from Wednesday against Portland (off of an incredible Coby White pass).

The Trail Blazers led for most of the first half of the game, with Jerami Grant (33 PTS, 9 REB) and Toumani Camara (14 PTS) keeping Portland’s offense in motion. The Bulls benefitted from some timely offense by Isaac Okoro (13 PTS, 3-6 3PT) after the break, through, and they had jumped out to a double-digit lead halfway through the third quarter.

But this is the NBA, and nothing comes for free. Even after the Bulls stretched it to a 20-point lead in the fourth, Grant and Deni Avdija (32 PTS, 11 AST, 11 REB) fought all the way back to recapture the lead with under a minute to go. And after hitting a big three to give the advantage back to Chicago, Coby White (25 PTS, 7 AST) dished a beautiful dime to Nikola Vucevic (27 PTS, 8 REB, 5-9 3PT) as the clock ticked to zero.

Vooch just can’t stop! (fan view: ⬇️)

Elsewhere around the NBA:

• Nickeil Alexander-Walker (38 PTS, 13-17 FG, 8-10 3PT) had a career night, but his Hawks fell 135-126 to a balanced San Antonio offensive attack (three Spurs w/20+ PTS) led by De’Aaron Fox (26 PTS, 9 AST), who continued his hot stretch since returning from injury.

• Led by a standout night from Jalen Suggs (23 PTS, 7 AST, 5-9 3PT), the Magic shot 52.9% (18-34) from three and rode the hot hand to a 129-101 win over the Clippers, their fifth win in six games. Los Angeles struggled outside of James Harden (31 PTS, 8 AST, 5 REB, 5-11 3PT) and Ivica Zubac (14 PTS, 19 REB).

• It was 109-109 with 30 seconds left in Knicks-Mavs on Wednesday, but that’s when Landry Shamet (9 PTS) happened. The Knicks guard hit a clutch three to lift New York over the Flagg-less Mavs in the final minute, pushing Dallas back after Max Christie (15 PTS, 7 REB) and D’Angelo Russell (23 PTS, 7 AST) almost completed the comeback. Jalen Brunson (28 PTS) led the way as New York won 113-111.

• The Pacers grabbed just their second win of the season by taking down the Hornets 127-118, with Bennedict Mathurin (24 PTS, 12 REB) leading the way and TJ McConnell (14 PTS, 6-6 FG) staying perfect the entire way. Rookie Kon Knueppel (28 PTS, 8 REB, 7 AST) continued his electric start to the year, but the game was Indiana’s for the taking with LaMelo Ball (18 PTS, 2-11 3PT) shooting how he was. 😬

• After a first-quarter scare where the Pelicans took a 10+ point lead, Denver took care of New Orleans thanks to a career-high night from Peyton Watson (32 PTS, 10 REB, 6 AST) and another triple-double from Nikola Jokic (28 PTS, 12 AST, 11 REB). Derik Queen’s big night (30 PTS, 9 REB, 2 STL, 2 BLK) made it interesting, but the Nuggets won 125-118.

• 22 PTS each for Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett helped the Raptors beat Tyrese Maxey (24 PTS, 9 AST) and the 76ers 121-112. Look who’s sitting atop the Eastern Conference! Toronto is cookin’.

Top Five Friday

It takes a mix of high-level stamina and injury preparation to be considered an “iron man” in today’s NBA, and with the debate over load management at a fever pitch, displays of endurance stand out even more!

We’re here to give some love to the players who show up night after night. Here are our top five iron men in the league right now:

1) Mikal Bridges (NYK): Bridges is the modern NBA’s definition of an iron man—he hasn’t missed a single game in his entire NBA career, suiting up for all 556 possible regular-season contests before this season (and all 14 so far this year). An incredibly impressive feat, and one that extends into Bridges’ college days!

2) Harrison Barnes (SAS): Look back at Harrison Barnes’ career stats and you’ll see exactly why he’s on this list—82, 82, 82. The 14-year vet is coming off three straight full 82-game seasons, and across his career, he’s logged seven seasons with 77 games or more. Even as he’s transitioned into a veteran role, Barnes’ availability has remained elite, making him one of the NBA’s most reliable night-to-night players.

3) Buddy Hield (GSW): The Bahamian Buddy is tough! Hield has played in 80+ games every season since 2021-22 and in all 82 games four times throughout his career. Hield did it most recently last season but most impressively in 2023-24, when a trade from Indiana to Philadelphia meant Hield actually played in 84 games. Insane.

4) Jonas Valanciunas (DEN): As a youngster, Valanciunas was quite the iron man—he played 80+ games in three of his first five seasons in the league with Toronto. He’s been replicating that recently after a few trades around the league, playing all 82 games in 2023-24 and 81 last year. The Lithuanian big man has some fight in him!

5) Bub Carrington (WAS): Carrington is only a second-year player, so why does he warrant inclusion on this list? He didn’t miss a single game his rookie season, the only player in his class to achieve the feat, and hasn’t missed a game so far this year. Despite some scoring struggles so far this year, Carrington could go all the way again.

Three in the Key

Signing Off

TGIF, Enjoyers! Thanks for sticking with us this week. We’ll see the real ones back on Monday. Peace! ✌️

Austin Zeglis