Let the Sixers have a normal game

Joel Embiid joins Tyrese Maxey and Paul George in the lineup and immediately crashes out.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

Circus Sideshow; Georges Seurat; 1887-88

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Scores

Spurs 106, Sixers 111 — For the third time all season, Nick Nurse had all three of his stars at his disposal. And … Joel Embiid got himself ejected in the second quarter after he barrelled into Victor Wembanyama for an offensive foul.

There was some pretext: the same ref that Embiid went after almost ejected Andre Drummond on a second Wembanyama fall that was converted into a flop. Wild sequence.

The weird thing is that this was actually a compelling game. The Spurs almost ripped the game away late, but Tyrese Maxey saved the day.

Celtics 104, Magic 108 — This is getting out of control. The Magic are no longer just winning games without their stars. They are beating the Celtics without their stars. (The C’s were without one star, Jayson Tatum. This is a nice result for his MVP resumé.) Your high scorers for Orlando: Tristan da Silva and Trevelin Queen. Of course.