For the first time in 326 days, Jared McCain played in an NBA game.
With the Sixers in Chicago on the front end of their second back-to-back of the 2025-26 season, their 21-year-old sharpshooting guard suited up on Tuesday night and came off the bench against the Bulls, officially marking his return after a season-ending torn meniscus suffered last December and a torn UCL in his right thumb suffered in September. It has been a long road back for McCain, whose brief flashes of stardom as a rookie were the most exciting moments of a 2024-25 Sixers season that was otherwise miserable.
The Sixers and Bulls entered Tuesday tied for the best record in the Eastern Conference at 5-1. Now, sole possession of the top spot belongs to the Bulls, as they took advantage of a truly horrific offensive collapse from the Sixers. For about 40 minutes the Sixers scored at will; Tyrese Maxey dominated Chicago to the tune of 39 points. The Sixers steamrolled Chicago early and it took the Bulls until midway through the fourth quarter to make serious inroads. But the Sixers failed to make a single shot in the final six minutes and 26 seconds of action, with old friend Nikola Vučević knocking down what would be the game-winning triple with three seconds left.
What stood out from a 113-111 loss in which the Sixers earned every bit of the heartbreak they now feel, starting with McCain's first game action since December:
Jared McCain is back
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse reportedly indicated before the game that McCain would be on a minutes restriction; Nurse did not specify what McCain's exact limit would be, but it did not sound like the plan was for the sophomore guard to play plenty of minutes.
McCain's first stint of action, beginning at the 2:52 mark of the first quarter, lasted about six minutes. For the first few minutes he was running point next to VJ Edgecombe and Quentin Grimes, then Maxey checked in for Edgecombe and McCain was playing off the ball. He was not featured at all regardless; McCain only took two shots during that stretch and they were both misses on plays where he forced the issue. It was understandable; 10-plus months is a very long time.
McCain returned to the action with about four minutes left in the first half and got his first good look at a shot, but missed an above-the-break three. He handled the ball quite a bit more, though, and had a nifty drive-and-dish to Joel Embiid for a bucket:
20 ➡️ 21. pic.twitter.com/M5dHYLbXCl
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) November 5, 2025
That stint lasted for three minutes and another 30 seconds or so, and McCain did not record a point. He was moving around well, but very much looked like someone trying to get his feet wet again. His third and final stint began late in the third quarter, and he went scoreless for another six minutes or so. McCain missed all four of the shots he attempted across 15 minutes in his season debut, not scoring any points and collecting a pair of assists.
Sixers blow another stellar Tyrese Maxey game
By the time McCain had checked into the game, the Sixers were wielding a significant lead. From the outset, they spammed Maxey-Embiid two-man actions and generated terrific looks time and time again. Maxey scored 22 points on only 10 shots in the first half alone, and the birthday boy knocked down four triples in the opening frame. He is on a completely different stratosphere as a scorer and shooter right now and it is remarkable to watch him gain complete control over just about every possession:
ladies and gentlemen: the eastern conference player of the week. pic.twitter.com/5tbv8YWyAk
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) November 5, 2025
Embiid's defensive immobility was exploited in this one, but his teammates did a much better job of insulating him as a rim protector as the game went on and they defended wonderfully during his time on the bench. On offense, though, Embiid toyed with Vučević right away, and totaled 18 points on 11 shots prior to intermission. He scored with ease at all three levels in the first half after drawing a foul on the game's opening play:
vintage Biid. he's up to 16 points! pic.twitter.com/JPkHftS0AL
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) November 5, 2025
Embiid's dominance waned in the second half, as many shots he usually hits did not go down. Things only got worse for him as the game got closer to its conclusion, and everyone else followed suit. Embiid's final shooting line – 7-for-21 – was horrid.
The Sixers scored 16 points in the first five minutes and change in the first quarter, and a win felt inevitable. Then for over half of the final frame the Sixers found themselves incapable of making a single shot. Even Maxey looked rattled. Nurse drew up a play that netted Grimes a wide open three with a chance to win the game, and the 25-year-old's shot hit off the rim. Their defense actually came up clutch down the stretch on several occasions, with Embiid finally showing signs of life there. But their offense was so ghastly that this shot from Vučević proved to be the difference:
MONSTER VOOCH SHOT! @CHSN__ | @NikolaVucevic pic.twitter.com/qGkRYYu5Tz
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) November 5, 2025
For the first time in 2025-26, the Sixers lost in detestable fashion on Tuesday.
Odds and ends
Some additional notes:
• With his fourth triple in the opening frame, Maxey officially passed Robert Covington for the second-most made three-pointers in Sixers franchise history. He has a very real chance of passing Allen Iverson for the record by the end of this season.
• Jabari Walker started at power forward once again, and he was all over the offensive glass. Walker has really found himself as a rebounder over the last few games, but at some point he is going to have to prove capable from beyond the arc. His minutes have been encouraging of late, though, and when Paul George returns to action the Sixers should give Walker a chance to stick as a small-ball center.
• Three-guard lineups have become all the rage around these parts… so how about a four-guard unit? Nurse tried it out to close the third quarter when Watford got into foul trouble, going with Maxey, McCain, Edgecombe, Grimes and Adem Bona.
Up next: The Sixers will get right back to work on Wednesday night when they face the Cleveland Cavaliers in another road battle.
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