PHILADELPHIA — For the first time in the 2025-26 season, the Philadelphia 76ers had to figure out how to win a game without Tyrese Maxey. Maxey was ruled out with an illness for Friday night’s visit from the Indiana Pacers. Maxey had played in each of the team’s first 23 games. He leads the NB A at 39.9 minutes per game and is second in scoring at 31.5 points per night. “Obviously, that’s a huge challenge,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. “Obviously, lots of minutes, lots of ball-handling, lots of scoring, against a team that likes to pressure a lot and play a lot of guards. So I think that handling the ball, (other) responsibilities have got to get spread out between the rest of those guys. It’ll be a good challenge for them.” Maxey was the lone player on the roster who had played in every game this season. Friday was the third game that both Paul George and Joel Embiid were available. But Maxey’s absence means the number of times the Big 3 have played together since the start of the 2024 season remains stubbornly stuck on 17, the 76ers 7-10 in those games. Quentin Grimes, who has been a frequent part of the 76ers’ finishing five, started. George will likely get more of the ball to create on offense. Nurse said that Maxey was limited in practice this week, giving the team time to plan around his absence. Without Maxey, Jared McCain will take a bigger role. The second-year guard logged a season-high 29 minutes Nov. 30 against Atlanta in his recovery from a meniscus tear in his knee and a thumb ligament tear. But he was reduced to 13 minutes against the Lakers on Sunday thanks to matchup concerns. “I think there’s been some improvement there, but he’s still not there yet,” Nurse said at Thursday’s practice. “So I think we’re still kind of going by what he looks like night-to-night right now. Hoping it gets to some evening out and rhythm about who’s going to be there and what the rotations look like someday. But I’m not holding my breath for that either.” • • • Embiid was in the lineup for the 10th time this season. He’s played in four of six since a nine-game absence due to inflammation in his right knee, the one without the surgically repaired meniscus. Embiid hasn’t looked great offensively. He’s averaging 28.3 minutes, 15.3 points and 5.7 rebounds, shooting just 31.3 percent (15-for-34) thanks to an 0-for-14 from 3-point range. He was 0-for-6 from 3 against the Lakers. Nurse isn’t overly concerned. “I think it’s a rhythm thing,” Nurse said. “I think his mechanics are fine. The decisions of which ones he’s taking are fine. I’m always talking about conditioning and rhythm, and it’s been a little choppy for him. He had about three weeks where he didn’t play, and he’s just kind of working himself back. “He’s a great shooter, and most of those shots are pretty wide open. Those are ones we want him to take.” • • • All the in-and-out has not just created voids but changed responsibilities. Case in point, Andre Drummond. The veteran center left the Nov. 28 game in Brooklyn with a knee sprain that looked scary but ultimately amounted to just pain and swelling. That limited him to 6 minutes against Atlanta two days later, but he was back up to 23 in a win in Milwaukee. His minutes, injury impacts aside, have fluctuated from around 15 when he backs up Embiid to 35 when he starts in Embiid’s absence. The 14-year NBA veteran is tackling that unique challenge with his distinct savvy. “He’s tried, I think, to play through not being 100%, which we give him credit for,” Nurse said Thursday. “And I think he’s got to get used to a long stretch as a 30-to-35-minute-a-night guy, and then all of a sudden, it’s a little choppy for him.” Drummond was limited to 40 games in 2024-25 by a nagging toe injury. He admittedly showed up for work many nights where the wiser decision would’ve been to recuperate. But that’s not how he operates. “I come from an era of basketball where if you can walk and jump and run, you go out there and play. If you’re unable to do those things, you sit out,” he said Thursday. “Injury or not, you’re going to have bumps and bruises. You’ll never be 100% in the NBA season. That’s impossible. And if you are, you’re not doing your job.” • • • NOTES >> If Friday games in December against Indiana haunt anyone else, it’s because a Dec. 13 affair last year against the Pacers led to Embiid fracturing a bone in his face after an errant forearm from Bennedict Mathurin. McCain left that game with a suspected concussion, cleared protocol but reported knee soreness the next morning that revealed the meniscus tear. … Two-way guard Hunter Sallis missed the game with a right shoulder sprain. Kelly Oubre (left knee) and Trendon Watford (left adductor) remain out. … Pacers coach Rick Carlisle entered the game with 999 career NBA coaching victories. He’s 11th in NBA history, a spot behind Rick Adelman. The Pacers entered winners of two straight and four of six after a 2-16 start. ...read more read less