Feb 2, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Dominick Barlow (25) shoots against Los Angeles Clippers center Brook Lopez (11) and forward Kawhi Leonard (2) during the second half at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
It simply can't always be about Joel Embiid and/or Tyrese Maxey when the Sixers win basketball games.
Yes, they are two of the biggest superstars in the league and the team won't be going very far if they aren't the driving forces most nights. But with Paul George serving his 25-game suspension, and VJ Edgecombe no doubt fighting a building rookie wall, others will have to more than make their presence felt in order for this team to reach their expectations.
Monday against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first of a five-game road trip, they got tremendous performances from the understudies, none more shining than that of Dominick Barlow.
Thrust into the starting slot due to the absence of George, Barlow provided the early momentum for his team that ultimately led to a 128-113 win over the Clippers at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
Barlow was the star in lifting the Sixers to a 38-19 first quarter lead, contributing 11 points, seven rebounds, a steal and a block. He finished the night with career-highs of 26 points and 16 rebounds - including 10 offensive boards - to carry the Sixers to a win over the Clippers, who had won 17 of their previous 21 games.
Philly is the home of the underdog story, right?
Well Dominick Barlow fits perfectly, especially because of how hard he’s fought and scrapped to get to where he’s at today
He’s been everything Philly has needed from him and more pic.twitter.com/WruaO9Zr97
The numbers Barlow produced on Monday aren't what the team is going to expect moving forward, but it was the hustle plays that they will absolutely need while trying to deal with life without George.
And they'll have to get it from other role players in the future, much like they did on Monday. Kelly Oubre, Jr. tallied 15 points and Quentin Grimes added 14 off the bench as the Sixers won their fourth game in a row to improve to 28-21. They will face the Golden State Warriors in the second game of back-to-backs on Tuesday.
"He puts in a lot of work and plays really hard and just really went after it," coach Nick Nurse told reporters after the game. "He was on the glass, obviously, took it to the rim. Just wouldn't quit playing hard and he kept finding opportunities and he made the most of them."
Shuffled in and out of the starting lineup for most of the season, Barlow may have just found his spot for the time being with that opening unit.
"He kind of fits in there with that group, I think," said Nurse. "Obviously there's chances where they double team off of him some, and it frees him up to get some runs at the rim. But just nothing new, just tell him to go as hard as he can all the time at the offensive glass and he does it. He got 10 and he just missed about another four or five. That's the way to do it, you have to go every time to get a lot."
Barlow's output came on a night that saw some of the regulars have some unusual contributions. Maxey didn't score in the second quarter. Embiid scored just eight in the first half on 2-of-10 shooting and Edgecombe finished the night with only five points on 1-for-11 shooting from the field. Despite his tough shooting night, the rookie did finish with seven assists and didn't turn the ball over in 30 minutes of play.
"I always want to see him make some buckets but that's a good example of a guy going 1-for-11 and they can still really play good games, and I think that's the case," said Nurse. "I think he was really good all over the place, schematically, obviously seven assists. And, I like that he kept taking (shots). He didn't shy away from them. He'll do that some, be quiet and then all of the sudden, no matter what it's gone like during the current game, he'll still come in there and make some big shots."
On the other side of the ball, Nurse employed a guard-heavy lineup at times, even having Maxey, Jared McCain and Quentin Grimes on the court at the same time. It appeared he wanted to have some quick feet on the defensive side of the ball to double Kawhi Leonard as much as possible. Though the Clippers wingman finished with 29 points, the team did a good job of making him give the ball away a lot and disrupted the Los Angeles offense. Guard James Harden did not play for the second consecutive game due to personal reasons.
Quentin Grimes having a nastier poster than VJ Edgecombe at this stage of the season feels like a massive upset
Also Joel Embiid is loving every bit of this considering his back and forth with John Collins through the years pic.twitter.com/GwfkLYPeO2
As much as Barlow was the star of the game, the leaders still performed up to their standards as Maxey finished with a team-high 29 points, which included seven three-pointers, while Embiid added a somewhat quiet 24 points in his 32 minutes of play.
"He's really played well," said Nurse of Embiid. "He's starting to play a lot better at the defensive end, too. "He's really locked into the schemes, he's really smart. He's a really intelligent person in general and a really high IQ basketball player."
Perhaps no one's role will change more with the absence of George than Oubre, Jr. With teams concentrating on shutting down Embiid and Maxey as much as possible, there should be plenty of opportunities for Oubre, Jr. at the offensive end. He took advantage of that against the Clippers.
"Kelly's having a great season," said Nurse. "He really is. First and foremost we always put him on somebody tough. We matched him pretty much with Kawhi all night. He's a big wing defender. Plays really hard, tries really hard. Not perfect but he's always trying. He does have an offensive punch to his game. I just think that the three-ball looks smoother coming off his hands this year than it ever has. He's put in a great deal of work this summer on it and continues to reap the benefits of that."
After the game, the Sixers took a quick flight north to face the Warriors on Tuesday. With Embiid's availability questionable on the second game of a back-to-back, the understudies will need to play like stars once again if the team wants to continue a winning road trip.
