For the second consecutive game, the Philadelphia 76ers have beaten a solid team on the road without Joel Embiid. This time, the Sixers held on to a win against the Hoston Rockets that was spurred by Tyrese Maxey's 42 points.

A win over this Rockets team (especially with numerous key players sidelined) is nice but not something the Sixers will use as proof that they’re a legitimate title contender. However, victories like these provide opportunities for other guys to show what they can do and get reps without the massive help Embiid provides. As valuable as he is, each guy has to get comfortable making plays and contributing to wins without leaning on him.

Maxey told reporters in Houston that Embiid is confident in the Sixers' ability to win without him. He also explained how, after multiple games without him, the team has a better idea of how it has to recalibrate when he is out for games.

“Yeah, we knew that. I mean, we knew that. Joel knows that,” Maxey said when asked if it's nice to know the Sixers are capable of winning when Embiid sits. “He's confident in us to go out there and perform if he's ever hurt, if he ever needs an off night or whatever. So, we've been great. You know, honestly, I think our record doesn't show it but we're starting to come along. We know how we wanna play, we know how we wanna defend and it's gonna be good for us. We gotta go out there tomorrow and try to do the same thing.”

The Sixers lost their first four Embiid-less games this season. They were against some great teams in the Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves and some solid teams like the New Orleans Pelicans (who had Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram) and Miami Heat (who didn’t have Jimmy Butler but did see Maxey play one of his worst-ever games that can be partly chalked up to shooting variance).

After beating the Orlando Magic and Rockets, Philly is helping its case in the standings and furthering Embiid's trust in the roster. To close out a road trip before the New Year, the Sixers will face the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night on the second night of a back-to-back.