Friday film: What happened before VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey won the Sixers a game in stunning fashion

No highlight or compilation from Sixers-Warriors on Thursday will be played more than one of the crazier sequences in recent Sixers history: VJ Edgecombe's go-ahead basket and Tyrese Maxey's game-saving block. It is understandable:

THIS SEQUENCE!
ARE YOU KIDDING ME. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/qwMMbj796R

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 5, 2025

But the first 47 minutes and change of Thursday's game were instructive, too. There was quite a bit of good from the Sixers in the first 36 minutes, to be specific, before a fourth quarter so brutal that it required Edgecombe's outstanding offensive play and Maxey's defensive play happening in the span of one second of game action to avoid a loss to a team that was without Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green.

In this week's Friday film, emptying the notebook of plays or performances worth remembering:

Tyrese Maxey's three-level scoring

Before he saved the day by blocking his former teammate and close friend De'Anthony Melton, Maxey poured in 35 points by torching Golden State at all three levels. Maxey knocked down four threes, he continued what has been far and away the best season of his career as a finisher and had a flurry of mid-range baskets.

It is just remarkable how consistent Maxey is in submitting scoring outbursts like this one. 21 games into his sixth NBA season, the 25-year-old is averaging 32.6 points per game on a career-best 60.9 true shooting percentage. There is just no way to stop a player with his blend of skills, speed and motor:

Before he saved the Sixers' win with an amazing block, Tyrese Maxey submitted yet another brilliant three-level scoring performance.
Maxey on Thursday vs. GSW: 35 points (13-27 FG, 4-10 3P, 5-5 FT).
All 13 of Maxey's made baskets against the Warriors, including two pick-sixes: pic.twitter.com/c86AJkMM02

— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) December 5, 2025

"I trust him," Edgecombe said. "I trust him with the game on the line. Every given night, I trust him."

Dominick Barlow keeps doing whatever the Sixers need

Before and after Thursday's game, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse raved about Barlow, whose contributions to the Sixers have been enormous despite his status as a two-way player. Barlow has tremendous athleticism for a big with his length, and he is mastering the art of utilizing his outlier traits in the most helpful ways possible. Barlow is already an elite offensive rebounder and has helped the Sixers generate extra possessions all season. He has recently become a more imposing shot-blocker, and had a pair of particularly excellent swats on Thursday.

One came after nobody boxed out old friend Buddy Hield:

After another Buddy Hield offensive rebound, Dominick Barlow erases his layup attempt: pic.twitter.com/et5K7XDLD1

— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) December 5, 2025

But the other one was far more impressive, not just because Barlow erased the shot on his second jump, but because he followed it up by throwing down a poster dunk on the offensive glass in transition. Perhaps the lone issue: the player he posterized was Edgecombe:

Dominick Barlow is an outstanding athlete. He blocks a shot on his second jump, then posterizes his own teammate with a dunk on the offensive glass: pic.twitter.com/ogRI2q89iH

— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) December 5, 2025

Barlow had injury scares at the ends of both halves of Thursday's game, with a bad landing as time expired in the second quarter and a hard fall on the very final play of the game. "Jesus, yeah," Barlow said before clarifying that he is going to be fine.

Barlow understandably seemed to receive a whole lot of treatment after the game, but did not seem worried about missing any time. Trying to block the Melton layup that Maxey got to, Barlow landed on a "camera dude" and hurt his hip.

"Melton leaked out, so we were in panic," Barlow said. "…Ran to block it, just fell on the camera dude. I'm good. Just not fun, not fun at all."

While that play was not fun for Barlow, his minutes with the Sixers have been quite enjoyable to date. If he continues to play the way he has through a dozen appearances – Barlow missed nine games due to an elbow injury – he will have a chance to become the most successful two-way signing in Sixers history. That title currently belongs to either Shake Milton or Paul Reed.

Justin Edwards stringing together encouraging games

Just as the Sixers had not won multiple games in a row dating back to October before Thursday's game, it felt like the second-year wing Edwards had been unable to post consecutive encouraging performances. Edwards' sophomore campaign already has its signature moment, a three-point barrage on national television to beat the Boston Celtics, but what it has not had to date is consistency.

So, the game after Edwards knocked down three triples and made a few standout defensive plays against the Wizards, it was a positive sign for the Sixers that the hometown kid had another helpful night, even if unremarkable. Edwards is still finding himself defensively again, but seems to be playing more "solid" on that end of the floor, as Nurse calls it. He has made quite a few good hands plays of late, adding another one to the list in the third quarter on Thursday:

A good hands steal from Justin Edwards gets the Sixers out in transition: pic.twitter.com/C88IW11bAM

— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) December 5, 2025

Edwards knocked down two of his four three-point attempts, both coming on quick triggers, and that is always going to be what people look at first with him. But his lone assist was a gem in transition, as he attacked a closeout, created a 2-on-1 and found Barlow under the basket:

A nifty Justin Edwards assist in transition: pic.twitter.com/nqJpthUoCU

— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) December 5, 2025

The opening play of the fourth quarter might have been Edwards' best drive of the season. He had conviction going downhill after blowing by a very good defensive player in Moses Moody with a left-to-right crossover dribble:

This is one of the most encouraging Justin Edwards drives of the season so far. He had real conviction: pic.twitter.com/Z3N1lQkFUJ

— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) December 5, 2025

It only scored two points like any other basket would, but it showed a level of confidence on offense that has eluded Edwards since his strong closing stretch last season. Edwards has until Kelly Oubre Jr. returns to prove that he deserves to stay in this rotation.

What went wrong

Edgecombe's first game-winner and Maxey's incredible block would not have happened had the Sixers not let a depleted Warriors team hang around and then eventually steamroll the Sixers in the final frame.

Ironically, this was actually one of the worst games Edgecombe has played in the NBA, so much so that even Nurse was inclined to close the game with Jared McCain instead before summoning Edgecombe with about two minutes left. The primary reason for Edgecombe's bad night: he struggled mightily with ball security all night:

Before winning the game on the offensive glass, VJ Edgecombe had one of the most difficult games of his short NBA career. Edgecombe had some serious issues with ball security: pic.twitter.com/3hrXnhGCql

— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) December 5, 2025

It seemed reasonable for Nurse to bypass Edgecombe for McCain down the stretch; McCain provides more secure ball-handling and a much greater shooting threat. McCain had some strong moments on Thursday, including this gorgeous drive and finish:

A terrific move and an even better finish from Jared McCain: pic.twitter.com/XUAUAOGCE2

— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) December 5, 2025

McCain also assisted one of Joel Embiid's five made baskets, showing signs of life for a two-man game with obvious potential but not a lot of experience:

The Sixers have not been able to develop the Jared McCain-Joel Embiid two-man game much yet, but it has clear potential: pic.twitter.com/XYL6dbI0BV

— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) December 5, 2025

But in the fourth quarter, Golden State's big and athletic lineup comprised of depth pieces started swarming. McCain, an undersized guard whose athleticism was already limited before his torn meniscus nearly a year ago – McCain said earlier this week that he feels like himself again, but his mobility is clearly not quite there just yet – struggled in the face of immense ball pressure. His trio of turnovers in the fourth quarter was not the sole factor in the Sixers' collapse at all, but it did play a major role in Golden State's ability to mount a comeback:

Jared McCain had three costly turnovers in the fourth quarter of the Sixers' win over the Warriors on Thursday. The first was an uncharacteristically bad pass; on the other two McCain struggled to handle intense ball pressure – the first of those against a well-timed double-team: pic.twitter.com/aWtOlZVSzV

— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) December 5, 2025

The Sixers' offensive execution down the stretch of this game was inexcusable, and they are incredibly lucky to have escaped with a win. Nurse did not have any qualms about embracing the totality of these 48 minutes, though.

"There's a lot of games going on like this in the league," Nurse said. "Like, a lot. [Golden State] was just in another one the other night, where they were down 24, came back against OKC and took the lead by four. I mean, you just flip the channels and you're going to see this. The pace is so high, the three-balls are going up, the offensive rebounding is so high, defensive pressure's gone way up. It's happening. So, you know what? I'm going to absolutely congratulate our men. A win is a win, you move on and try to get the next."

If the amount of ice on the floor of the Sixers' locker room after the game was any indication, Nurse indeed congratulated his players.

Let's talk about that finish one more time

Unsurprisingly, Nurse declined to pick either of Edgecombe's game-winning basket or Maxey's game-saving block when asked which feat was more impressive. But from physical and athletic perspectives, the answer is obviously Maxey's block, even though he joked after the game that Melton, whose finishing at the rim was often flimsy during his Sixers tenure, was "not making that."

But in terms of the wherewithal to make important reads in high-leverage situations, what Edgecombe did just six weeks or so into his NBA career is pretty amazing what Edgecombe did, too. Edgecombe is being defended by his fellow Bahamian and mentor in Hield, who quickly darts in the direction of Maxey as a double-teamer. As soon as that happened, Edgecombe knew Maxey was going to take a step-back jumper moving to his right, so the rookie got to the middle of the floor so that when the shot went up, he would have a chance to get an offensive rebound should Maxey not make the shot. Melton appeared to get a piece of the ball, and there was Edgecombe to clean it up:

On his game-winning basket on an offensive rebound, VJ Edgecombe sees Golden State send a double at Tyrese Maxey and knows Maxey is going to have to take a step-back jumper going to his right. He immediately gets to the middle of the floor, positioning himself to crash the glass: pic.twitter.com/MN8tYAxPvk

— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) December 5, 2025

"We know he can score, we know he can pass," Maxey said, "but he does things that don't show up in the box score all the time."

MORE: Edgecombe, Maxey provide last-second heroics to save the Sixers

Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdam
Follow PhillyVoice on Twitter: @thephillyvoice