Home sweet hardwood: Sixers settle in and try to make January pay off

CAMDEN, N.J. -- For the SIxers, it's time to unpack the bags, get reaccustomed to life in familiar surroundings and, for their sake, pile up some wins as the rest of the month of January will have them play nine of their next 10 games at the Xfinity Mobile Arena. 

That favorable stretch in the schedule begins Wednesday when they open a home-and-home series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. That follows back-to-back games the team played in Toronto against the Raptors on Sunday and Monday that ended a run of eight out of 10 games on the road.

"It kind of gives you a small preview of what the playoffs look like and having to be a team and go out and do it the next night," said SIxers forward Dominick Barlow at Wednesday's shootaround. "I know with Cleveland there is a (one day) break, but Toronto was back-to-back. Just mentally and physically you've just got to be ready to play. You play a team twice and they're going to know your tendencies a little bit better, have a better scouting report. I think it's good."

Dominick Barlow is somehow tasked with beating full-court pressure on his own. He not only gets the job done, but throws down an impressive dunk in traffic: pic.twitter.com/UjZh2SqomE

— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) January 12, 2026

The second game against the Raptors was just that -  good. The Sixers erupted for 80 first half points in building a 29-point lead and held on for a 115-102 win. That came a night after the Sixers blew a four-point lead with 20 seconds to go in a crushing 116-115 overtime loss.

The SIxers (22-16) enter Wednesday fifth in the jumbled Eastern Conference. They are just two and a half games behind the second-place New York Knicks and two games up on the eighth-place Miami Heat. The Cavaliers (22-19) hold the seventh spot.

Winners of six of their last eight games, the Sixers hope to be fully healthy as V.J. Edgecombe (groin), Joel Embiid (knee) and Paul George (knee) are all game time decisions. The oft-injured Embiid has played in nine of the last 11 games and the Sixers have won six of them. In those nine games, Embiid has averaged 27.7 points and 7.7 rebounds while averaging 33.4 minutes per contest. 

With the Eastern Conference being such a tight bunch and a slew of home games on the horizon, it could be a chance for the SIxers to distance themselves a bit during this time as six of the final 10 games of the month are against teams in their conference.

"I try to look at it like a competitive standpoint, but try not to get too wrapped up in that and just try to control what we can control," said Barlow. "When you look at that sometimes you start worrying about what teams are losing. You just got to worry about us winning. We just have to play our game and be competitive and be physical and execute what we're trying to do and we'll be okay."

During the final moments of Monday's win in Toronto, the Raptors' fans chanted for the former star player, Kyle Lowry, to be inserted into the game by Sixers coach Nick Nurse. The fans, and players, got their wish as Lowry, who won a championship with the team in 2019, played the final couple of minutes though thunderous applause. Lowry played for the Raptors for nine seasons and was a six-time All-Star.

All love for Kyle Lowry 🤝 pic.twitter.com/6DtnBdA5Lz

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) January 13, 2026

"It was dope, just seeing that and the love that he gets from the city and what he means, not just to Toronto, but Canada in general," said Barlow. "He's just been a great vet presence, giving advice but also when we're down bringing us up and when we're high and we've won a couple of games, keeping us grounded. He's done an amazing job. It was cool to be a part of that moment with him."

The team will be hoping to make this long homestand just as cool. 

"The crowd is passionate and they care and if you're not playing well they let you know," said Barlow of the SIxers' faithful. "But if you're playing well and doing what you're supposed to do they love you. That's what I grew up with. I think everyone is just excited to sit down for a little. I think eight of our last 10 have been on the road, so this is a chance to sit down and play these games at home (and) go home after the game is probably good for everybody." 

Bob Cooney has been covering the Philadelphia sports scene for all of his professional life from his 25 years at the Philadelphia Daily News to sports talk radio host and co-host at 97.5 The Fanatic. There isn't a professional team, or major sporting event, that has been in this city that Cooney hasn't covered. He was the beat writer/columnist covering the Sixers before and through The Process, has covered hundreds of college games and many Phillies, Flyers and Eagles games. He was present for all days when the U.S. Open was played at Merion as part of the Daily News coverage in 2013 and was named the Pennsylvania Sports Writer of the Year in 2016 by the National Sports Media Association.