The Sixers have kicked off their 2025-26 season with two straight gutsy comeback wins.

They stormed back to earn a 125-121 victory Saturday night over the Hornets in their home opener at Xfinity Mobile Arena. 

Quentin Grimes nailed the decisive shot, a go-ahead three-pointer with 15 seconds left.

Tyrese Maxey put up 28 points and nine assists. Grimes scored 24 points and Joel Embiid tallied 20.

LaMelo Ball led Charlotte with 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Collin Sexton added 21 points and seven assists. 

Paul George (left knee surgery recovery), Jared McCain (right thumb surgery recovery) and Trendon Watford (left hamstring tightness) were still out. Dominick Barlow was ruled out for the night at halftime because of a right elbow laceration.

The Sixers will host the Magic on Monday. Here are observations on their win against the Hornets:

Fantastic early offense 

The Sixers’ first points were a second-chance Embiid three-pointer created by a Barlow offensive rebound. 

Embiid drew two early fouls on Charlotte rookie center Ryan Kalkbrenner and set Maxey up for a three on a crisp dribble handoff. The Sixers clearly wanted to give Embiid immediate opportunities to initiate their offense after his 1-for-9 performance in the team’s opening-night victory over the Celtics. He did well with those touches. 

Overall, the Sixers’ offense came out incredibly hot and high-paced. Four Sixers made a long-range jumper within the first four minutes. Embiid’s second triple put the Sixers’ lead at 18-9 and caused a Hornets timeout.

The Sixers spread the wealth and were stellar in both half court and transition. Their first 11 field goals were all assisted. VJ Edgecombe connected with Barlow on a crowd-pleasing alley-oop. 

As a duo, Maxey and Edgecombe totaled 17 points, seven assists and one turnover in the first quarter. 

Following his ultra-impressive 34-point NBA debut, Edgecombe posted 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds in 40 minutes. 

Though he made some defensive mistakes, Edgecombe also had several strong moments in a three-steal, one block outing. One highlight came early in the second quarter when he stonewalled Tre Mann and forced a shot clock violation. 

Grimes in the zone  

Like on opening night, the Sixers started Maxey, Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre Jr., Barlow and Embiid. 

Embiid again had a minutes restriction and ended the night at 20. His opening stint was nearly seven minutes and he subbed back in to begin the second quarter. 

The star big man hit two more jumpers early in the period. The 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner looked overmatched vs. Embiid, who was much smoother and more self-assured than he’d been in Boston. 

Neither team managed many stops at the start of the second quarter. The Ball-Sexton backcourt lit the Sixers up from three-point range. The pair made their first six long-distance shots. 

Sixers head coach Nick Nurse only used eight players in his first-half rotation, playing Grimes, Adem Bona and Jabari Walker off the bench.The Sixers’ second unit needs buckets from Grimes and he was sure up to the task in Saturday’s first half.

Grimes attacked without hesitation and quickly entered a can’t-miss zone. He made his first four shots, including a four-point play in the second quarter. 

Grimes scored the final points of the first half, sinking a deep jumper and giving the Sixers a 61-58 edge. 

Edwards, Drummond help spark comeback

With Barlow sidelined, Walker started the second half. Charlotte took the lead less than two minutes into the third quarter on a Sexton and-one layup.

Just about every Sixer cooled off and the Hornets’ lead expanded to double digits. Grimes couldn’t sustain his first-half magic. The Sixers’ defense had a poor third quarter, conceding 38 points and allowing plenty of comfortable shots.

Nurse searched for something different.

Justin Edwards checked in for Walker around the midpoint of the third period. Andre Drummond also joined the action late in the third. The tide did not immediately turn, although both Edwards and Drummond helped the Sixers eat into the Hornets’ lead early in the fourth quarter.

Edwards canned two three-balls, Drummond picked up a couple of steals and the Sixers’ energy seriously lifted. Drummond converted a put-back layup off of a missed Maxey free throw, cutting the Sixers’ deficit to 102-99.

While Drummond provided a real spark, it obviously would’ve been nice for the Sixers to have Embiid available down the stretch. They again used up his full allotment of minutes before the fourth quarter. Maxey’s efficiency dipped as the game wore on (he finished 7 for 20 from the floor) and the Sixers’ offense lost a bit of steam. The Hornets went up 10 points on Miles Bridges’ alley-oop dunk.

The Sixers stayed scrappy.

Driving hoops from Oubre (19 points) and Edgecombe sliced Charlotte’s advantage to 116-115. After a timeout, Drummond slammed home a missed Maxey layup.

With the game tied and the shot clock dwindling, Maxey dished to Grimes on the wing. His first made field goal of the half was a giant three-pointer.

Mann then missed a game-tying jumper attempt and the Sixers saw another high-drama win through to the final buzzer.