76ers Top Pelicans In First Game Following Paul George’s 25-Game Suspension
Jan 31, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Kelly Oubre Jr. (9) dunks past New Orleans Pelicans forward Karlo Matkovic (17) during the third quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
One down, 24 more games until the 76ers get Paul George back.
On the night that the 76ers were honoring the 2001 Eastern Conference Championship team, the Philadelphia 76ers played in another nailbiter for what felt like the 100th time this season, pulling away late to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans 124-114.
This was the first game without forward George, who was serving his first of his 25 game suspenion for violating the NBA’s Anti-Drug Policy. Despite not having George, the 76ers’ top dogs continued to lead the team to victory, more specifically, Joel Embiid, who gave an Allen Iverson-esque performance, dropping 40 points for the first time this season. He also finished with 11 rebounds and four assists.
Tyrese Maxey added 18 points and eight assists in the win, while Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the year. For the Pelicans, it was the Saddiq Bey show as the former Villanova Wildcat balled out in his return to Xfinity Mobile Arena, dropping 34 points and six rebounds in the loss.
From the jump, both teams began knocking down shots and answering one another. Maxey and Herbert Jones both drilled layups to open the scoring, followed by six points from Embiid and Derik Queen. The threes began dropping as VJ Edgecombe and Trey Murphy III both drilled triples, and Maxey and Oubre Jr added ones of their own.
With four minutes to play in the first quarter, the Pelicans went on a small run thanks to rookie guard Jeremiah Fears, who just checked into the game. Fears drilled a floating jump shot for his first bucket of the night and followed that up with two long triples to tie the game at 30. Adem Bona added a free throw, and Micah Peavy drilled a three-pointer for New Orleans as the Pelicans took a two-point lead into the second quarter.
The second quarter was where the 76ers finally took over. After two minutes of no baskets, Trendon Watford got the scoring with five quick points. Jared McCain followed that up with a long triple, and Embiid began his dominant quarter of scoring with nine points over the first eight minutes.
Up nine points, Philadelphia kept that lead thanks to another three from McCain, four more from Embiid, and a ferocious dunk from Oubre.
As the final seconds ticked down in the first half, Embiid tipped in another bucket for his 15th point of the quarter, and Murphy followed that up with an alley-oop slam as the Pelicans went into the break down 67-54.
Heading into the dreaded third quarter, the 76ers once again blew their big lead. Things started well with Oubre hitting two threes to start the quarter, but two threes from Murphy and nine straight points from former Villanova Wildcat Bey made it a six-point game.
A dunk from Bona and a three from Maxey finally cooled down the Pelicans’ hot run, but Zion Williamson‘s first basket of the night and a pair of free throws from Fears made it 87-81 76ers with 12 to play.
The fourth quarter started with a bang as McCain and Jose Alvarado traded threes, and Embiid drilled a triple after Williamson scored four points. Both teams went back and forth, knocking down shots, but three consecutive threes, two from Alvarado and one from Bey, gave New Orleans a 105-104 lead for their first lead of the game.
Bey added two more points, and Yves Missi slammed an alley-oop dunk, but Embiid answered back with another three, and Edgecombe hit a layup to tie things up at 109 heading into a timeout with four minutes to play.
Out of the timeout, Embiid knocked down a bucket to break the tie, and after a stop on the other end, Dominick Barlow slammed home a running dunk to go up four. Bey drilled two buckets to get it back to a one-possession game, but a deep three from Maxey and Embiid put Philadelphia back up seven with a minute left to play.
Bey missed a long three on the following possession, and on the other end of the floor, Edgecombe drilled the dagger three from the top of the key, putting the 76ers up double-digits. Both teams began dribbling out the clock as the 76ers pulled away late to win their third straight game, 124-114.
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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