The Philadelphia 76ers completed their first back-to-back set of the 2025-2026 NBA season on Tuesday night against the Washington Wizards.
What looked like a potential blowout loss for Philadelphia turned out to be a miraculous comeback.
The Sixers begin the season with a 4-0 record, collecting their fourth win well before the mark they picked up a fourth win last season, showing a clear turnaround with better health.
The Sixers didn’t win their fourth game last season until after Thanksgiving. They’re now 4-0 before Halloween.
— Paul Hudrick (@PaulHudrick) October 29, 2025
Last year, the Sixers’ fourth win occurred against the Detroit Pistons on November 30. This season, they could have five wins before making it to November.
Joel Embiid returned to the lineup but remained limited to under 25 minutes for the third game in a row. After Embiid took on 17 shots, producing 25 points in 23 minutes for the Sixers, Nick Nurse put his trust in the backup, Adem Bona, who took advantage of every minute on the court.
In 18 minutes, Bona put on a block party. He swatted five shots, while also coming down with five rebounds and collecting one bucket, which happened to be a critical putback slam dunk, which set the Sixers’ bench off as they rallied for a comeback.
Throughout most of the second half, the Sixers trailed by double digits. It seemed they were on their way to collecting their first loss of the season, but they didn’t show an ounce of quit. The 76ers managed to force overtime before scratching and clawing their way to a 139-134 victory.
The 76ers won this game 😳 pic.twitter.com/aYLUJgmrR9
— Fliff (@fliff) October 29, 2025
Outside of the standout performances put on by the front court, the Sixers nearly saw another Tyrese Maxey 40-point outing. The star guard clocked in for 47 minutes and shot 11-25 from the field, while going 14-16 from the free-throw line. He accounted for 39 points and made it a double-double outing with 10 assists.
Quentin Grimes put on a strong performance off the bench, producing 23 points on 7-17 shooting. He also had seven rebounds, three assists, and two blocks on the defensive end.
comeback dub. 😤 pic.twitter.com/SdmTbMbscW
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 29, 2025
The Sixers are the first Eastern Conference team to four wins, and one of two teams without a loss. The Chicago Bulls advanced to 3-0 on Monday night.
There is still plenty of basketball left to be played, but the Paul George-less Sixers look like a legitimate threat to the East. The Sixers will get the next two days off before returning to the court for Friday’s NBA Cup action against the Boston Celtics.
