Maxey’s 34 Hold Off Mavericks in Sixers’ New Year’s Day Victory
Jan 1, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) celebrates making a three point basket against the Dallas Mavericks during the second half at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
The Sixers opened 2026 by doing what good road teams do: surviving an early Dallas push, leaning on their stars, and quieting the hype around a rookie showcase with a composed 123-108 win over the Mavericks.
It was the second matchup between two of the top three picks from last year’s draft: Cooper Flagg for the Mavericks and VJ Edgecombe for the Sixers. The irony of two young players who look to be the future of their respective teams playing on New Year’s Day 2026 was a solid undercurrent going into the game.
In the first quarter, the pace was incredibly fast, both teams playing well, but in the last 2 minutes of the first quarter, the Mavs played incredibly well in the paint on the offensive side of the ball, being led by Flagg, and the way he was streaking into the paint showed exactly why he was the first overall pick. Max Christie was able to penetrate seemingly at will as well, despite Joel Embiid being in the game. The Mavs closed out the first with a 6-point lead, 33-27.
When the second quarter started, Dallas scored the first bucket, and then the Sixers went on a 12-0 run and took the lead and never really looked back. They had one of their best quarters of the season, outscoring the Mavs 41-27, and in the second, team leaders Tyrese Maxey and Embiid put the team on their shoulders, but it was the play of Edgecombe and Paul George that really defined that quarter. George, in particular, played with plenty of bounce in his step, including a thunderous dunk after he slid through the Mavs’ interior defense with ease, and his finish was vintage PG.
The third quarter started with the Mavs playing better, but they still had trouble dealing with space, and they paid for that all quarter. Flagg’s fast start in the first half was slowed with a tweak of his left shoulder. Even though it was obviously bothering him, Dallas coach Jason Kidd just moved the offense through Anthony Davis. The first 2 quarters were defined by the runs, and the third was not the case. Neither team really pulled ahead, with the Mavs winning the third 26-24, and with the Sixers’ history this season in the third, this is a winning quarter.
The fourth quarter went back and forth with Dallas making 2 solid runs to get to within one, but the Sixers bent, but never broke, and they weathered both storms en route to a 123-108 win, their 18th win in this young season.
The Sixers are now 9-6 on the road, and have their 5th straight win over the Mavs. The Mavs, on the other hand, 4 game home winning streak, their longest of the season, came to an end.
Maxey Loves Coming Home to Play In Dallas
There is a famous book by Thomas Wolfe called “You Can’t Go Home Again,” and tonight’s game by Maxey shows that he doesn’t agree with that title.
Maxey went to South Garland High School in Garland, Texas, which is about 12 miles from the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Playing on this floor seems to somehow bring out another gear for Maxey.
Tonight, he was doing everything well, including a masterful change of speed, but he hesitated slightly and hit that extra gear that returning to the DFW Metroplex brings him. It got an audible sign of appreciation from the Dallas crowd.
Maxey finished with 34 points and 10 assists. His 10 assists tonight mark the third time in his last four games where he tallied at least eight assists. This is also Maxey’s 11th game with at least 30 points and 10 assists this season.
In the clutch moments down the stretch, Maxey continued to not only score, but he also gave the Mavs a first-hand display of why he’s top 10 in the NBA in steals. In the fourth quarter, a clutch strip of a driving Klay Thompson all but ended a 13-2 run the Mavs were on, and allowed his backcourt running mate to go back the other way and start to put away the Mavs. We all know what Tyrese brings to the offensive side of the ball, but the way he ballhawks on defense is elite, to say the least.
However, when a player is as unstoppable as Maxey has been all season, the other elements sometimes get overshadowed a bit. Tonight, put both on full display.
Edgecombe Takes Another Big Growth Step in Dallas
In the head-to-head matchup between the lottery picks from the draft, Flagg started stronger in the first half, but it was obvious he lost some steam as the game went on because of his shoulder discomfort. However, VJ started heating up in the second quarter and kept playing well all the way until the end of the game. He had a circus shot off a dribble penetration where he beat 2 Mavs defenders who couldn’t stop him.
In the fourth quarter, he did everything needed to snuff out the runs Dallas would put up. He had a hand in squashing the last run that Dallas went on to try to mount a comeback. His pass interception on an ill-advised pass, which directly led to a Quentin Grimes three-pointer that sent a wave of Dallas fans heading to the exits, unofficially icing the game, and it all started with Edgecombe’s ball awareness.
I think we all knew that his athleticism was off the charts, but his understanding of where the ball will be going on defense is incredible. Tonight, VJ definitely made people take notice, and in a head-to-head with the top pick from his draft.
Sixers Played With Killer Instinct On the Road
Dallas had been playing well at home recently, and when the game started, they looked like they were firing on all cylinders. It looked like this would be a long game unless Nick Nurse could use the athleticism edge the Sixers have and lean on Embiid as the game played out. What he did worked, as in the second quarter, he used Embiid where he is best, moving between the paint and flaring out to create space for the rest of the team to do what they do. Dallas wasn’t able to do anything to make up for that space, as they got into the penalty halfway into the second quarter, and the Sixers kept pressing, which led to the explosion in the second quarter.
What was impressive was how well they held off every run the Mavs went on in the second half. Kidd’s gameplan definitely worked well in the fourth early on as the Mavs pulled to within one, but Grimes, Edgecombe, Embiid, and Maxey overpowered the Mavs down the stretch to earn a strong win on the road for the Sixers. This game showed the evolution of how much trust the team has in each other to make big plays. It all starts with the back court, and how well they play off of each other, and to look at tonight’s scoring, you can see why this was a Sixers win — Maxey led all scorers with 34, Edgecombe had 23, Embiid had 22, and Grimes had 19. When we see this scoring output, this team will be hard to beat deeper into the season.
Moving ahead, the Sixers will head to Madison Square Garden to take on the Knicks on Saturday. Let’s hope that the Sixers can use this as a blueprint on how to put the hammer down on teams with two athletic bigs moving forward.
Steve Hamilton
Steve may have been born in California, but don’t let that fool you. After dating a local woman and clashing with her and her family over sports for decades, he has an affinity for Philly sports. Balancing love for Philly and Bay Area sports teams may seem impossible, we can all agree that the Cowboys are the true evil.
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