Tyrese Maxey had a great highlight during the third quarter of the 76ers' NBA Cup opener against the Celtics on Friday night.

Celtics rookie Hugo Gonzalez brought the effort Boston needed to beat the rival (and previously undefeated) 76ers in Philadelphia.

Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics survived a comeback attempt from the Philadelphia 76ers to open their NBA Cup slate with a victory.

It's early, of course. The new season is barely a week old. The standings this early can tell lies. But on its face it's true. Right there at the top of the Eastern Conference. Winners of their first four. Their best start in six seasons since they went 5-0 to begin the 2019-20 campaign. The Sixers, of all teams.

Allen Iverson spent a large chunk of his Hall of Fame career playing for the Philadelphia 76ers. Although Iverson didn’t initially leave the Sixers’ organizatio

"We said if we got the game to 10 points, we were going to find a way to win," Maxey said. "We got the game to 10. We found a way to win."

Boston will get a chance to rectify one of those early losses with a Friday trip to Philadelphia, in which the Celtics will take on the 76ers in the opening round of the NBA Cup. As in previous years, NBA Cup games will count toward teams’ regular-season records with four teams from each conference advancing to a knockout tournament.

The 2023 group stage closed out with matchups against the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Embiid continued his trend of scoring of 30 points, grabbing 32 in each of the final two games. The Sixers split the games, finishing 2-2, getting placed third, behind the Cavs and the Pacers.

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid responded in kind to a Washington Wizards fan who had been taunting the team Tuesday night.

The red-hot Philadelphia 76ers put a perfect record on the line Friday night as they welcome Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics in the group stage of the 2025-’26 NBA Cup.