First loss of the season! The 76ers’ 4-game winning streak ended. Embiid had 20+6. In this game, I completely saw these 4 people.

Editor|Old Kankanqiu

On November 1, the NBA 2025-26 season ushered in the focus of the Eastern Conference. The Boston Celtics went to Philadelphia to challenge the 76ers away. Surprisingly, even though Paul George missed the game due to injury, the 76ers relied on this year's No. 3 draft pick VJ Edgecombe and Maxey to form a "double backcourt". The team has won four consecutive victories and has not yet lost a single game. It is simply amazing. The most emotional thing is that Embiid, the former team leader, is now back from injury, but his role in the team has gradually become marginalized, and he feels a bit like "a low level or a high level". If he continues to play like this, I wonder if he will not adapt to the change in role and eventually leave the team?

As for the Celtics, this season is difficult. Tatum, the head coach of the team, accidentally tore his Achilles tendon in the playoffs last season and was basically reimbursed for the season after the surgery. However, the team's salary in the new season directly exploded. Therefore, the general manager directly started the team dismantling mode, and successively sent away players such as Porzingis, Holiday and Horford. As a result, the team's competitiveness has dropped sharply. Currently, the team only has 2 wins and 3 losses. It only ranks 10th in the less competitive Eastern Conference, falling directly from a championship team to a weak one in the Eastern Conference.

In today's game, in terms of the starting lineup, on the 76ers' side, George continues to be absent. The coach's starting five is: Maxey, V.J. Edgecombe, Oubre, Walker, and Embiid; on the Celtics' side, Tatum is absent, and Jaylen Brown has a strained left hamstring but still plays. The starting lineup is: Nemeans Keta, Minot, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard.

At the beginning of the first quarter, Pritchard broke through the emergency stop and hit consecutive mid-range shots. He scored 6 points in a row on 3-of-3 shooting. The Celtics led the 76ers 11-4 by 7 points. Maxey's breakthrough attracted three double-teams. He turned back to Mochizuki and sent a second pass, assisting Embiid to hit a three-pointer. Then Embiid singled out Minot near the free throw line and faced the defense and made a strong shot to score 2+1. The 76ers narrowed the point difference to 2 points. Jaylen Brown dribbled back and dangled Oubre, and made a steady mid-range shot. White hit consecutive 45-degree three-pointers. The Celtics went on a 16-3 run, once again widening the point difference to 15 points. Maxey made a sudden attack and stopped the bleeding in time. After making two free throws, at the end of the first quarter, the 76ers trailed the Celtics by 13 points 25-38.

Back in the second quarter, Embiid covered for his teammates, but was pushed down by Gonzalez and caused a foul. Anfernee Simons held the ball in singles, stepped back and drifted three-pointers at the buzzer, and the Celtics had led by as many as 20 points. Maxi caught the ball two steps outside the top of the arc and hit a long three-pointer steadily to stabilize the situation. The Celtics switched offense and defense and Simmons made a three-pointer from the bottom corner. The point difference remained at 20 points. Edgecombe grabbed an offensive rebound, assisted Grimes for a layup, and then glided against the defense for a layup to score 2+1. This rookie with the No. 3 overall pick is really strong. Then Edgecombe broke through and scored, and Drummond received the ball from the corner and made a three-pointer from a wide open position. At the end of the half, the 76ers chased to 11 points 57-68.

Halftime statistics, for the Celtics, Anfernee Simons came off the bench for 15 minutes, made 5 of 11 shots, 3 of 6 three-pointers, 1 of 2 free throws, and scored 14 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block; Jaylen Brown played 16 minutes and played 8 of 10 shots, including 2 of 3 three-pointers, and 1 of 1 free throw, scoring 19 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.

For the 76ers, Embiid played 11 minutes, making 2 of 7 shots, 1 of 1 three-pointers, 3 of 3 free throws, 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block. The third overall pick, VJ Edgecombe, played 20 minutes, 4 of 7 shots, 1 of 2 three-pointers, 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Easy side to fight again, Embiid broke through with the ball, faced two defenders and scored a three-step layup, and then continued to dribble and score 2+1 against floaters. The 76ers caught up to 3 points and stopped the Green Army. The Celtics' offense continued to be sluggish. Maxey broke through and scored again, and then advanced the fast break. He assisted Edgecombe and completed a two-handed dunk. The 76ers tied the score. They had been behind by up to 24 points before. Gonzalez counterattacked and dunked successfully, Brown hit three-pointers one after another, and the Celtics regained the lead to 12 points.

In the fourth quarter of the decisive battle, Embiid committed a three-point foul and raised his knee to hit Gonzalez's crotch. After a review, the referee upheld the original decision and Embiid executed three free throws. Jaylen Brown holds the ball in isolation and can make a three-pointer with a step-back. He has scored 31 points. Edgecombe received Embiid's pass and hit a key three-pointer to catch up with only 2 points left. As the Celtics made all the key free throws, Embiid hit a three-pointer. In the end, the Celtics narrowly defeated the 76ers 119-118, ending their opponent's 4-game winning streak and rejecting a 24-point reversal.

In terms of statistics, for the Celtics, Jaylen Brown played 31 minutes and made 13 of 19 shots, including 4 of 7 three-pointers, a game-high 32 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 1 block; Anfernee Simons made 7 of 21, 3 of 9 three-pointers, contributed 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block, with a game-high plus-minus of +23.

For the 76ers, Embiid made 6 of 14 shots, 7 of 7 free throws, and contributed 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks; Maxey played 43 minutes, scored 26 points on 8 of 16 shots from the air, 8 rebounds, 14 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks; VJ, the third overall pick - Edgecombe made 7 of 11 shots, 2 of 4 three-pointers, 17 points, 5 rebounds (3 offensive rebounds) and 5 assists; Grimes made 6 of 13 shots, 2 of 7 three-pointers, 2 of 4 free throws, 16 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal, with a team-low plus-minus of -15.

In this battle, I saw these three stars clearly. First, VJ Edgecombe, the third overall pick, is really stable. I can’t see the performance of this rookie at all. He and Maxi complement each other and have gradually replaced the older generation core and become the cornerstone player of the future team; second, Embiid has returned from injury and his condition is gradually recovering. Despite this, its comparison Compared with the MVP season, his influence in the game is not at the same level. If he can accept the role change and assist the new king to ascend the throne, maybe the 76ers really have a lot to do; thirdly, although Jaylen Brown scored the highest score in the game, his leadership ability is indeed very different from Tatum, and the role of second leader is still suitable for him.