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A missed goaltend almost ruined a stellar game, but the Sixers pulled an OT win out vs. a good Rockets team.
Jan 23, 2026, 2:39 AM UTC
The Sixers overcame a horrendous call at the end of regulation to take down the Houston Rockets 128-122 Thursday night.
Joel Embiid was dominant for much of the night with 32 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists going 10-of-19 from the floor. Tyrese Maxey had a much better night attacking the basket, including a potential game-winner in regulation incorrectly not called a goaltend. He led the Sixers with 36 and 10 assists on 15-of-28 shooting.
Paul George was quiet and in foul trouble all night but hit some big threes late, putting up just 10 points on nine shots. VJ Edgecombe wasn’t up to much either, finishing with just nine points shooting 4-of-9 from the floor. Both made massive plays in OT.
Kelly Oubre Jr. had perhaps his best game as a Sixer, finishing with 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting with four rebounds and two stocks. Kevin Durant led Houston with 36 as well.
With Embiid and PG back in the lineup the Sixers were back at full strength while the Rockets were missing Steven Adams, Aaron Holiday and Fred VanVleet, who’s out for the season.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
* The defensive aggression the Sixers play with paid off on the first play of the game but not the following two. Edgecombe cheated to help George pop free a steal and take it all the way for a dunk. They nearly did the same thing on the following possession but the ball caromed to Amen Thompson right under the basket, then George fouled Durant shooting a three on the following possession. Oubre remained in the starting lineup over Dominick Barlow and started well again, cutting his way to a basket in the paint and knocking down a corner three.
* Edgecombe made another big early impact with another ferocious dunk, but Maxey started slow again and the Sixers fell behind. Maxey missed a couple of open threes and a layup at point-blank range. Embiid got a dump off and putback but missed the first three shots he tried to get for himself. Meanwhile Houston made eight of their first 12 shots of the night.
* Getting back and getting in front of shooters allowed the Sixers to pick up a couple stops, but Houston still finished the quarter over 50% from the field and from three. Maxey at least got one three to fall, and an offensive rebound opened up the floor for him to get to the basket as the Sixers trailed by two after a high-scoring first.
* Embiid had begun to control things on the offensive end, but shots just kept rimming out after falling halfway down. It happened to him in the first and then to Edgecombe in the second after Embiid whipped a nice pass to him in the corner. He worked his way down the right side to get Barlow open in the dunker and that was successfully converted. Embiid also got to the line a couple of times in this stretch.
* Despite dribbling into a double team and getting blocked on his first shot, Trendon Watford had his best stretch of minutes since returning. Again it was his playmaking chops that stood out, helping Quentin Grimes get free for a backdoor cut and pushing a fast break to hit Barlow with a lob.
* They struggled to contain Thompson and Durant, but perhaps the Sixers’ biggest problem defensively of the half was how many needless fouls they committed. Alperen Sengun had one of the easiest and-1s of his life, and Durant had two. Embiid was getting to the line just as frequently though. While Maxey couldn’t buy a three, he got a floater and a couple transition dunks, one of which was impressively over Jabari Smith Jr. That helped the Sixers take a seven-point lead into the break.
* Two jumpers falling was exactly the start to the half that Maxey needed. Sengun had tried to impose his will offensively, but smoked his first two layup attempts of the half. He was losing the physicality battle on both ends, though Embiid might have gotten away with an offensive foul here. [To be fair to Sengun, he wasn’t the one trying to win back Korkmaz’s affection in this matchup.](https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/sixers/2025/09/09/former-sixers-guard-makes-claim-regarding-joel-embiid-alperen-sengun/86060619007/)
* This felt like the sharpest the Sixers have been on offense in a couple weeks, which is impressive given the opponent. Embiid had found a nice blend of cooking 1-on-1 versus accepting the doubles and let his teammates try to take advantage of the power play. It’s why they were able to overcome Maxey’s struggles, and it’s why Oubre and Barlow continued to thrive hanging around the dunker spot.
* Not only was Oubre doing that while being everywhere defensively, but he was white hot from three again, making four of his first five. The last one he hit gave the Sixers their largest lead of the night at nine, but they immediately surrendered a 9-0 run to give it back. Maxey turned it over trying to force a pass to the double teamed Oubre. After a couple second-chance points, a Dorian Finney-Smith three tied the game. The ball swung to PG with the quarter winding down, and he buried the midrange for his just his second make of the night, putting the Sixers back up by two after three.
* It feels absurd how quickly this team can undo the good work they put in. A couple baskets from Watford and Embiid had them in good shape, but Grimes undid most of that fouling Reed Sheppard as he drained a three-pointer. A couple wide open baskets at the rim later and suddenly it was the Rockets back with a two-possession lead.
* As momentum three after momentum three clanked off the rim for the Sixers, their defense started to slip as well. Sheppard was shaking free and hot, scoring at the same pace as the Sixers as a team in the quarter while they were also getting gashed on cuts to the rim.
* A timeout with a little over four minutes left seemed to settle the Sixers and get them back into things. Embiid came out of it with a layup. Maxey then followed up with a three of his own, one of those coming from a steal and another turned into an and-1. After Tari Eason and PG traded threes in the corner, a Maxey midrange tied the game with about a minute and a half to go.
* Durant got the switch he wanted to Maxey and put Houston back in front with a hook shot. Embiid fumbled the ball as he was catching Maxey’s pocket pass and turned over the ensuing possession, though George was able to steal the ball back and get it up to Maxey for another fast break layup.
* On their next possession, Durant wasn’t able to switch off Oubre, but he still shook free for a jumper but it didn’t fall, giving the Sixers the ball tied up with 13 seconds to go. Maxey brought the ball up the court, went all the way to the basket and it initially looked like it was blocked. Replay showed that it was goaltended by Thompson, but the play wasn’t reviewable, making it a jump ball with a second left. The Sixers did win that jump ball but after review, they only had 0.1 seconds to work with. Embiid’s volleyball tap attempt was funny, but the crowd certainly didn’t think so as they continued to rain down “ref you suck” chants heading into overtime.
* George hit a three to open up scoring in the extra period, then Edgecombe picked up two bigger rebounds — one to end a Rockets possession and another to save a bad PG shot and put it back himself. Durant and Thompson quickly answered back with five of their own. After Maxey put them back in front, the Sixers came up with a steal and block for two big consecutive stops.
* Oubre was able to run out after that block, pushing the Sixers lead back up to two scores with under a minute to go. Edgecombe was able to force a turnover by drawing a foul on Durant, though he came up empty trying to dunk on Sengun. It took Durant three tries but thanks to long offensive rebounds he cut the lead to two. After Maxey hit a pair of free throws, Edgecombe and Oubre came up with yet another steal, icing this one for good.
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