Timeout Nick Nurse after Jabari Smith Jr. connects on a triple. Sixers trail 19-12 after 5:29. Kelly Oubre Jr. has eight points.

Rockets trying to start possessions with Jabari guarding Embiid — but willing to switch actions and get Sengun on him.

Paul George raises the roof with a dunk to kick things off. Sixers open with VJ Edgecombe on Amen Thompson and George on Kevin Durant.

The Sixers have made a change to their starting lineup: Kelly Oubre Jr. is starting and Dominick Barlow will come off the bench.

Joel Embiid and Paul George are both officially AVAILABLE for Sixers-Rockets tonight.

MarJon Beauchamp is in Philadelphia, the first time I’ve seen him here since training camp. But he is inactive today — as is Johni Broome, despite being listed as available.

Sixers two-way statuses tonight vs. Houston, I’m told: ACTIVE: Jabari Walker, Dominick Barlow INACTIVE: MarJon Beauchamp Sixers have 2 games of two-way availability left while under 15 players. Walker has 7 games left, Barlow has 17 games left and Beauchamp has 31 games left.

Jared McCain corner three-point shooting:

Jabari Walker is eager to guard Kevin Durant tonight. They have a good relationship & share a trainer. Walker wants to test himself. But also… “If you play good defense,” Walker said, “he’ll compliment you. That’s a rare thing. So it makes you want to play even harder so you get that compliment.”

Andre Drummond and Paul George have blue jerseys on as shootaround ends. No sight of Joel Embiid, which is not uncommon. Kelly Oubre Jr. is in blue and Dominick Barlow is in grey.

Joel Embiid and Paul George are the only Sixers listed with injury designations ahead of tomorrow's game vs. the Rockets: www.phillyvoice.com/sixers-news-...

The Sixers have an injury report for tomorrow’s game vs. Houston: Joel Embiid — right ankle injury management — PROBABLE Paul George — left knee injury management — QUESTIONABLE

ICYMI: Yesterday’s Sixers mailbag hit on why Kelly Oubre Jr. is the pivot point of this year’s trade deadline, a Quentin Grimes deal should be considered very unlikely and much more trade talk, including how the Sixers can remake their wing rotation without Oubre: www.phillyvoice.com/sixers-news-...

Ranger Suárez has arrived for his press conference.

Tyrese Maxey raved about Adem Bona's improvement after the Sixers' loss to Phoenix on Tuesday in which Bona made an impact, posting a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) with two blocks. "He's playing really well this season... he does everything, man." Full highlights:

Two examples of VJ Edgecombe's athleticism that were jaw-dropping up close last night:

VJ Edgecombe scored 25 points on 10-21 in the Sixers' loss to Phoenix on Tuesday, including two threes, an early flurry of mid-range pull-ups and a pair of late buckets on the offensive glass. All 10 of Edgecombe's made shots:

Kelly Oubre Jr. knocked down a season-high five threes in the Sixers' loss to Phoenix on Tuesday, also adding two steals. Oubre has scored 39 points across his last two games:

A rough loss for the short-handed Sixers tonight, who had a spirited effort down the stretch but created too large of a deficit to erase. Kelly Oubre Jr. was very good, though — wrote about the importance of his scalability: www.phillyvoice.com/sixers-vs-su...

Sixers got a spirited push late in the game from their Maxey-Edgecombe-Grimes-Oubre-Bona lineup, but it was too little, too late. The games Joel Embiid and Paul George misses are the ones where Tyrese Maxey has to be elite, and he didn't have it at all tonight. People here are booing. Story to come.

Credit to the Sixers for trimming a 17-point lead to seven with 3:23 left. Adem Bona's defensive activity has been really important.

Tyrese Maxey and Quentin Grimes both connect on threes to trim Phoenix's lead to 11 points with 5:39 left and Jordan Ott calls timeout.

Jordan Goodwin blocks Dom Barlow and yells emphatically, then hits a corner three and taunts the Sixers bench as Nick Nurse calls timeout. Sixers down by 16, the largest lead of the game on either side.

After three: Suns 97, Sixers 84. Another disastrous third quarter for the Sixers, despite opening the frame with a 13-2 run. They were outscored 38-18 in the final 9:21 of the quarter.

Sixers have been crushed since this timeout, outscored 26-12 in about seven minutes.

Trendon Watford is getting some run midway through the third quarter. Nick Nurse going back to Watford + two bigs instead of Justin Edwards.

A 13-2 Sixers run in the first 2:39 of the third quarter puts the Sixers ahead and forces a Jordan Ott timeout.

Halftime: Suns 57, Sixers 53. A slow first half in which Phoenix's free throws (13-13 as a team) were the difference. Sixers have stayed afloat with four points from Tyrese Maxey and no Joel Embiid or Paul George because of Kelly Oubre Jr. (16 points) and VJ Edgecombe (12 points).

Nick Nurse goes to Maxey, Edgecombe, Oubre Jr., Barlow and Bona, and immediately gets a 7-0 run to go back ahead. Oubre has been awesome; up to 16 points. #RevengeGame

14-6 Suns run starts the second quarter and forces a Nick Nurse timeout. Sixers have had Maxey, Grimes, Edwards, Barlow and Drummond out there; the Barlow/Drummond pairing has not been effective all year.

A Kelly Oubre Jr. long two has been overturned to a three. Sixers lead 30-27 after one; Oubre has a game-high 11 points.

After one: Suns 27, Sixers 29. VJ Edgecombe and Kelly Oubre Jr. did the heavy lifting for the Sixers, scoring 10 points each. Tyrese Maxey 0-5 from the field. Six rebounds for Andre Drummond.

Justin Edwards is getting his first rotation minutes in a long time, and he's out there in a small-ball lineup that would look more "normal" with Trendon Watford. Edwards knocks down a corner three right away.

Unsurprisingly, Nick Nurse switches Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey's usual sub patterns. Maxey checks out at about the 4:00 mark of the first quarter. Edgecombe should finish out this frame or come very close.

VJ Edgecombe is basically the only player to come out with any sort of offensive juice tonight. He has 10 of the Sixers' 17 points through eight minutes.

What a way for Matt Cord to return!

Suns go with local kid Collin Gillespie on Tyrese Maxey and Devin Booker on VJ Edgecombe.

Kelly Oubre Jr. steals and scores and we are underway.

Tonight's bell-ringer: 2025 National League Cy Young Award runner-up Cristopher Sánchez.

Paul George is officially OUT tonight.

New: Today's Sixers mailbag is live, focused on the trade deadline. - Why a Quentin Grimes trade is extremely unlikely - How Kelly Oubre Jr. is the pivot point of this year's deadline - Who the Sixers could acquire to bolster their wing rotation, cheap or not www.phillyvoice.com/sixers-news-...

Elite bell-ringer tonight.

Sixers two-way statuses tonight vs. Phoenix, I’m told: ACTIVE: Jabari Walker, Dominick Barlow INACTIVE: MarJon Beauchamp Sixers have 4 games of two-way availability left while under 15 players. Walker has 8 games left, Barlow has 18 games left and Beauchamp has 31 games left.

Nick Nurse says the Sixers have considered starting Quentin Grimes to get him out of his funk.

Broome is still listed as doubtful for tonight's game with a left thumb sprain.

Sixers recalled Johni Broome from the Delaware Blue Coats.

Kyle Lowry early work in the dark!

As expected, Joel Embiid is out on the second leg of the Sixers' back-to-back, with another injury designation that he has not yet had this season. Meanwhile, we will see if Paul George suits up: www.phillyvoice.com/sixers-vs-su...

The Sixers have an injury report for tonight's game vs. Phoenix: Joel Embiid – right ankle injury management – OUT Paul George – left knee injury management – QUESTIONABLE