Next man up, West Coast down: Sixers ride the bench to Bay Area bliss

There's probably not a scenario that could have been better than the first two games of this Sixers' West Coast trip. 

A dominating win over a short-handed Los Angeles Clippers team, who had won 17 of their previous 21 games, followed by a sound thumping of the Golden State Warriors, who were also missing players, just like the Sixers.

Wins in the NBA have to be gotten no matter the circumstances, and the Sixers got two with extenuating ones. 

There is the Paul George suspension. Add to that the team played back-to-back games after getting to the West Coast on Sunday following a Saturday home game, and Joel Embiid sitting out Tuesday's contest in San Francisco. 

You understand why this current five-game winning streak is so special.

The Sixers always seemed to be in control in posting a 113-94 win over the Warriors that improved them to 29-21 on the season. 

To get a winning record on this five-game trip no doubtedly would require huge performances from the expected, that's Embiid and Maxey. But the two wins so far have been fueled by the after-thoughts. 

In Monday's win over the Clippers, Dominick Barlow collected 26 points and 16 rebounds. Tuesday, it was more of the same. While Maxey only went for 14 points, rookie VJ Edgecombe exploded for 25, seven rebounds and seven assists. Trendon Watford got off the bench to contribute 16 points and eight rebounds, while Kelly Oubre, Jr. had 15 points and six rebounds, Andre Drummond got 12 points and 12 rebounds and Barlow went for 10 points and six rebounds.

VJ Edgecombe at GSW full highlights:

25 points
11-20 FG
7 rebounds
7 assists pic.twitter.com/bXKhaoqtdp

— Drew Peltzman (@dapeltz13) February 4, 2026

Edgecombe has become one of the steadying forces for the team in his rookie season. Monday against the Clippers he shot just 1-for-11 from the floor but was present everywhere with his defense and seven assists. Tuesday, with Maxey being doubled by the Warriors for most of the game, Edgecombe took over the scoring duties.

"He obviously was really good," Nurse told reporters following the win at Chase Arena . "He took it into some spots and made a bunch of shots, which he is able to do. We don't see it that often but it kind of presented itself tonight. I thought he got us off to a great start as well, just playing confidently, obviously. They took the ball out of Tyrese's hands all night so other guys had to step up and they did a good job."

It has only been three games since the news of George's suspension came down, but the team seems to be embracing the "next man up" rallying cry that many professed since Saturday. They have had three different leading scorers in the games since and Tuesday proved to be a total team effort with the eight players in double figures.

"We work on this stuff a lot, the double teaming stuff, because Joel sees it so much and Tyrese sees it when Joel doesn't play," Nurse said. "But we spend a lot of time on it and it's good to see the time get a return on that. I just think, again, guys made good plays. We didn't turn it over much and kept kind of finding the right guys. Even if we didn't or did find a good shot."

They mostly did. And with Drummond manning the middle for 29 minutes, that helped them rule rebounding as they posted a 61-38 advantage there. And when big baskets needed to be gotten, no one provided them more than Edgecombe.

"He's just mature, man," said Maxey of the 20-year-old Edgecombe. "He's done what we've needed him to do all year and he just keeps stepping up, stepping up every single game."

V. J. Edgecombe makes this young fan's night. 👏🙌

pic.twitter.com/81CvzTgW5V

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 4, 2026

It was a mature win for a team that was missing two of its most mature leaders in Embiid and George. They won despite Golden State getting off to a hot shooting night, making six of its first 10 threes. They won for the second consecutive night by using an energetic 21-4 run over the first and second quarters. They won by getting 25 bench points in the first half after getting 29 total in the prior game. They won because they have a rookie in Edgecombe who plays years above what his birth certificate says.

The team will head back down south to face the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, before heading to Phoenix on Saturday and Portland on Monday. So far, the trip is moving along swimmingly. And without back-to-backs for the rest of it, Embiid just might see action in the remaining games.

Right now for the Sixers, things just couldn't be better.