76ers rally past Hornets 109-104 behind Maxey's 38 and another late Edgecombe three

Without Joel Embiid or LeBron James and playing the second night of a back-to-back, the Philadelphia 76ers spent most of Saturday night in Charlotte trailing. They finished it on a 15-3 run and won 109-104. That makes them 6-1 and gives them three straight wins.

Tyrese Maxey carried the offense from the opening minutes. He made his first four shots and had 19 points at halftime on 8-of-13 shooting, according to Liberty Ballers. He went quiet in the third quarter along with the rest of the team, then scored 15 in the fourth. He finished with 38 points on 13-of-23 shooting, including 4 of 9 from three, plus four rebounds, four assists and two steals. GMA News reported that the 38 points were his season high.

Charlotte's offense ranks last in the league, but it opened by scoring 37 points in the first quarter. Philadelphia still took a 57-54 lead into halftime. The Hornets outscored the Sixers in the third and led 83-77 going into the fourth, according to the Bleacher Report box score. Grayson Allen led Charlotte with 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting, and Brandon Miller added 24. Philadelphia trailed until the final two minutes. Maxey tied the game at the free-throw line with 1:22 left and put the Sixers ahead on his second attempt.

VJ Edgecombe then hit the shot that decided it. He had made only 4 of 13 shots all night, but with 35.4 seconds left he hit a step-back three over Allen, NBC Sports Philadelphia reported. That shot capped 13 straight Philadelphia points. Miller hit a three to make it 107-104 with seven seconds left. Jaylen Brown then made two free throws with 5.2 seconds left to seal it, per the Liberty Ballers game recap. Brown was back in the lineup and scored 16 on 6-of-15 shooting. Edgecombe finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Players further down the rotation made the comeback possible. Anfernee Simons scored 19 points with five threes and three steals. During the closing run he made a three, came up with a steal and finished in transition. Jabari Walker scored 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting off the bench. Dean Wade scored four points and had 10 assists, two steals and a block.

What it means for Monday against Chicago

The Sixers have Sunday off and then host the Chicago Bulls on Monday, November 2. The main question is whether Embiid and James return after missing the second game of the back-to-back. Philadelphia has shown it can win without them, and Saturday was its third straight five-point win, after beating the Knicks 98-93 at home and the Pacers 114-109 on the road.

The 6-1 start has come almost entirely in close games. Philadelphia's widest margin of victory is 11 points, against Milwaukee. On average the Sixers have scored about 108.7 points and allowed about 104.9, a margin of under four points per game. They are 3-0 on the road and 3-1 at home. The only loss was a 106-93 home defeat to Detroit. Monday's game against the Bulls is also the first of two home games in a row on this stretch for a rotation that has been playing heavy minutes. Maxey played 38 minutes on Saturday, and so did Brown in his first game back.