PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers saw a 24-point lead slip away in their contest with the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night, as they trailed late, and it looked like a heartbreaking loss was about to ensue. Instead, the Sixers dug deep and pulled off a stunning 99-98 win over the Warriors thanks to the heroics of VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey.
Maxey had 35 points to lead the way, Joel Embiid had 12 points and six rebounds, while Dominick Barlow had six points, 14 rebounds, three assists, and three blocks in a terrific night. VJ Edgecombe added 10 points, five assists, and six rebounds while Quentin Grimes had 12 points, five rebounds, and six assists.
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Here are the three biggest takeaways following the win:
Edgecombe shows off toughness
Dec 4, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe (77) drives for a duck against the Golden State Warriors during the first quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
On a night where the rookie didn’t have his best game, it was impressive to see Edgecombe come up with some huge plays with the game on the line. He had a couple of tough defensive plays that led to some Warriors baskets and he had a high number of turnovers in this one that contributed to Philadelphia losing the lead. Instead of letting that get him down and bother him, the No. 3 overall pick stepped up with the game on the line. He had the huge steal with 8.2 seconds left to give the Sixers a shot and then he had the game-winning putback with 0.9 seconds left to redeem himself. It’s impressive to see a player so young make so many big plays.
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«He got a big steal, and obviously, the game-winning shot,» said Embiid after the win. «He’s willing to do whatever it takes to win whether shots are falling or not. Obviously, as of late, it’s been a struggle, but he’s also adding in a lot of different ways. He’s just gotta keep going.»
Barlow’s versatility shows off
Dec 4, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Dominick Barlow (25) and Golden State Warriors forward Gui Santos (15) and guard De’Anthony Melton (8) wrestle for the ball during the fourth quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
He doesn’t get a lot of the attention or the love that he deserves, but Barlow was terrific for the Sixers in this one. He grabbed a slew of tough rebounds, had a number of big defensive plays, moved well without the basketball to get himself some easy buckets within the offense, and did a lot of the little things to help Philadelphia win this one. This was a classic Barlow game when considering everything the Sixers need from him to get it done in the win column.
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«He was great,» said coach Nick Nurse. «Like, I keep saying to you guys, he just plays hard. He just does everything hard. I mean, he was really kind of our only source of rebounding, it felt like for a while, right? They do a great job crashing the glass and we struggled into—we went to a little bit of a smaller lineup to pull some of it out of there. He saved the day on a number of possessions.»
Maxey goes off again
Dec 4, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) looks on during the third quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
The Warriors deserve credit for finding a way to slow down Maxey in the second half–mostly due to the play of former Sixers guard De’Anthony Melton–but the star guard had another fantastic effort. He shot 13-for-27 overall and 4-for-10 from deep leading to his 35 points and he set the tone for Philadelphia. He continues his torrid start and he continues to throw the Sixers on his back to get the job done on the floor and lead this group as needed. He played 40 minutes as he still needs to give a lot, but that’s what happens with the great players.
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Embiid said of Maxey:
«It’s fun to watch. I was just telling him, and I told him that the last couple of years when I was on that scoring run, when you get in that moment, it just feels like the game slows down, and it just becomes easy. That’s what it is right now. Like, every single time he steps on the floor, obviously, he’s playing a lot of minutes so he doesn’t have to force anything. He can let the game come to him, and he can just go out and do the job, but he’s in such of a good rhythm as far as making shots, getting to his spots, not rushing. I think that’s the biggest key, that obviously, he and his trainer, Drew (Hanlen) worked on this summer. Just always being on balance and not rushing. I think that was, for me, that was the biggest thing that I told him. That’s what he needed to get better at and he’s gotten better at it and I think that’s what’s taken him to the next level.»
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: 3 biggest takeaways for Sixers following gritty win over Warriors
