This week was off to a tough start for the Philadelphia 76ers. When they went into Miami without Tyrese Maxey on the floor, the Sixers coughed up an early double-digit lead and ended up falling short for the fourth game in a row.

On Wednesday, the Sixers were thrilled to get Maxey back in the mix. For the first time this season, the Sixers had their All-Star trio of Maxey, Joel Embiid, and Paul George on the court together. Unfortunately, another injury put them in a tough spot.

During the third quarter of the matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, George hyperextended his knee. After going to the locker room, the Sixers ruled out the nine-time All-Star for the rest of the game. With George nursing a knee injury and Maxey being on a minutes restriction, Embiid attempted to push the Sixers past the shorthanded Grizzlies with a win. He was not successful.

Going into the Friday night game against the Brooklyn Nets, the Sixers had five losses in a row. The circumstances became even more difficult when the team ruled out Paul George and, eventually, Joel Embiid.

While Embiid was considered healthy on Thursday night, he was downgraded on Friday morning. As the Sixers participated in shootaround on Friday morning, Embiid was just a spectator. He wouldn’t get the chance to go through his pregame warmup routine. As the center experienced swelling in his knee, Embiid was ruled out.

In the absence of the two stars, the Sixers benefitted from a big Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain outing.

The one-time All-Star scored 26 points in 26 minutes. Meanwhile, the rookie McCain dropped 30 points in 38 minutes of action. The rest of the starting five, along with KJ Martin off the bench, scored double-digits as well. The Sixers managed to get back in the winner’s column for the third time this year with a 113-98 win over the Nets.

@Sixerdaily: This is perfect 😭

@BrettSiegelNBA: If it wasn’t for Jared McCain, the 76ers would have zero wins right now.

@RussFcb: 76ers found their future backcourt for real

@Brodes81: I absolutely love this 🤣🤣🤣. We got our guys. We’ll be just fine in the next era of Sixers basketball 🔥