Comeback Kids Do It Again: 76ers Rally From 19 Down To Beat Wizards In Overtime And Remain Undefeated
Oct 28, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Adem Bona (30) prepares to dunk the ball as Washington Wizards center Alex Sarr (20) looks on in the first half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Philadelphia 76ers basketball is back in full swing, and through the first week of the new NBA season, the 76ers have looked fantastic. Despite an ugly showing from the team for the majority of the night, the 76ers rallied late once again and completed their biggest comeback of the season.
Heading to the nation’s capital to take on the Washington Wizards in their first back-to-back of the season, the 76ers’ defense looked the worst it’s been all season. They allowed the most points in a quarter to kick off the game, and conceded multiple double-digit runs from Washington throughout the night.
However, despite all that, Tyrese Maxey, who scored 39 after a 43-point performance a night ago, and Quentin Grimes continued to hit multiple big shots down the stretch and forced the game to overtime. In overtime, the 76ers looked sluggish and out of breath at the start, but once again rallied thanks to big plays on both offense and defense to improve to 4-0 to open the season for the first time since the 2019-20 season with 139-134.
Despite a solid start from both Maxey and Joel Embiid, who combined for 20 of the 76ers’ 32 first-quarter points, the 76ers’ defense looked abysmal through the first 12 minutes. Second-year center Alex Sarr specifically looked outstanding in the first, scoring 13 points and grabbing five rebounds through his first nine minutes of play.
CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert added eight and seven points, respectively, helping the Wizards score 40 points in the first quarter, the most points the 76ers have allowed in a quarter all season.
Heading into the second quarter, Embiid continued his impressive night, adding 10 points to his total, putting the 76ers back within two points. Back and forth the teams went, but towards the final minute before the half, the three started falling for both teams. Kyshawn George drilled a pair, and Sarr added another one. Thankfully for the 76ers, VJ Edgecombe finally made his presence known with seven points to end the quarter, to make it 72-68 at half.
While the 76ers remained in it through the first half, the third quarter once again proved to be the struggle quarter for the team. The defense looked lifeless to start the second half, and the Wizards took full advantage of it.
Led by George, Sarr, Bub Carrington, and Khris Middleton, Washington went on a huge 23-8 run over the first five minutes of the quarter. Carrington got things going with a huge three to open things up, while George went on a 7-0 run of his own, and Middleton followed it up with seven points of his own to extend the Wizards’ lead to 19.
Down big, the 76ers needed a run and got it thanks to five points from Grimes and a four-point play from Edgecombe, cutting the deficit down to 12, but four points from Marvin Bagley III made it 110-94 heading into the final 12 minutes.
In the fourth, both teams went back and forth to start the frame, but with under six minutes to play, the 76ers finally went on a run to put the pressure back on the Wizards.
It was Maxey and Grimes who got the stretch going, each scoring four points, and Kelly Oubre Jr. contributed three of his own on an and-one jumper for an 11-4 run to cut the deficit to single digits.
Middleton and George added buckets to put Washington back up 10, but the 76ers once again used a big 10-0 run to tie the game. Maxey knocked down two tough buckets, and Grimes added to it with a pair of tough threes, tying the game at 126 with just over 30 seconds to play.
The Wizards went down the floor and got a bucket on a goaltending call from Adem Bona, but after review, it was overturned. A final shot from Middleton was no good, and the two teams felt 48 minutes weren’t enough and overtime was needed.
In OT, the sluggishness from the 76ers showed as they allowed two early shots, one from George and a long three from Sarr, and couldn’t hit any shots of their own.
Down five with two minutes left, Maxey will his way to the rim for two tough layups to make it a one-point game. After a stop, Maxey drove again and missed, but Bona grabbed a big rebound and slammed it home to give the 76ers the lead for the first time since the first quarter.
With 27 seconds left to play, despite the defense struggling all night, the end of the game was when it turned up. Oubre forced a miss and got the board and found Maxey, who knocked down a pair of free throws. Bona then kept the defense going on the other end with his fifth block of the night for two more Maxey free throws.
Despite a three from George, Grimes picked off Middleton on the inbound for a huge steal and buried two free throws to secure the 139-134 win, keeping the 76ers undefeated on the year.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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