PHILADELPHIA — When a team with so much expectation for a season goes through 82 games and wins 24 of them, the next year can go a couple of ways. The spiral could continue. The frustration can linger. And almost everything can fall apart. Or maybe reinforcements can be made and lessons can be learned.

Tyrese Maxey exploded for 43 points, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to a 136-124 victory over the Orlando Magic. Rookie VJ Edgecombe added 26 points,

Tyrese Maxey’s second 40 piece of the season and 26 from VJ Edgecombe kept the Sixers atop of the Eastern Conference standings.

Together, Edgecombe and Maxey combined for over 60 percent of the Sixers' 117 points, all on a night where even under a minutes restriction returning from a very truncated 2024-25 campaign, Joel Embiid, Philadelphia's biggest star, was disturbingly dull (11 percent from the field, 0-of-4 on 3s, 6 rebounds, minus-16).