Maxey scores 40 points as 76ers rally to beat Celtics 117-116

BOSTON (AP) — Tyrese Maxey scored 40 points and VJ Edgecombe added 34 in his NBA debut to help the Philadelphia 76ers rally to beat the Boston Celtics 117-116 in their season opener Wednesday night.

Edgecombe scored the most points in an NBA debut since Wilt Chamberlain had 43 on Oct. 24, 1959.

Philadelphia led by four with 22 seconds left, but it was down to one when Edgecombe missed a pair of foul shots with 9.1 seconds to play. Payton Pritchard had two shots for the winner and missed both.

Joel Embiid played for the first time since February, scoring four points on 1-of-9 shooting. The 2023 NBA MVP and a two-time league scoring champion had six rebounds in 20 minutes as he returns after a 2024-25 season when he was limited to 19 games because of a sprained left foot, a sinus fracture and arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

Jaylen Brown returned from a hamstring injury in the preseason finale to score 25 points. The 2024 NBA Finals MVP is expected to carry a heavier load this year with fellow All-Star Jayson Tatum, who watched the game from the bench in street clothes, recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Derrick White scored 13 points of his 25 points in the third quarter, when the Celtics scored 16 straight points to turn a five-point deficit into an 11-point lead. The Celtics led 94-84 with nine minutes remaining before the Sixers scored eight straight points to make it close.

76ers: Host Charlotte on Saturday.

Celtics: At New York on Friday night.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Boston Celtics center Luka Garza has his bloodied face examined during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) and guard VJ Edgecombe (77) pressure Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11), who was making a failed attempt at the game-winning basket, during the final seconds of the second half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics forward Josh Minott (8) slams a dunk against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown (7) drives to the basket against Philadelphia 76ers forward Adem Bona (30) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, center, talks with guard Derrick White, left, during a time out in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, center, loses control of the ball while trapped by Boston Celtics forward Xavier Tillman, left, guard Anfernee Simons, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics guard Anfernee Simons (4) drives to the basket against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal officers in the Minneapolis-area participating in its largest recent U.S. immigration enforcement operation can’t detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who aren't obstructing authorities, including when these people are observing the agents, a judge in Minnesota ruled Friday.

U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez's ruling addresses a case filed in December on behalf of six Minnesota activists. The six are among the thousands who have been observing the activities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol officers enforcing the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area since last month.

Federal agents and demonstrators have repeatedly clashed since the crackdown began. The confrontations escalated after an immigration agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head on Jan. 7 as she drove away from a scene in Minneapolis, an incident that was captured on video from several angles. Agents have arrested or briefly detained many people in the Twin Cities.

The activists in the case are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, which says government officers are violating the constitutional rights of Twin Cities residents.

Government attorneys argued that the officers have been acting within their legal authority to enforce immigration laws and protect themselves. They said Homeland Security officers have been subject to violence across the country and in Minnesota, and that they have responded lawfully and appropriately.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the ACLU didn't immediately respond to requests for comment Friday night.

The ruling prohibits the officers from detaining drivers and passengers in vehicles when there is no reasonable suspicion they are obstructing or interfering with the officers.

Safely following agents “at an appropriate distance does not, by itself, create reasonable suspicion to justify a vehicle stop,” the ruling said.

Menendez said the agents would not be allowed to arrest people without probable cause or reasonable suspicion the person has committed a crime or was obstructing or interfering with the activities of officers.

Menendez is also presiding over a lawsuit filed Monday by the state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul seeking to suspend the enforcement crackdown, and some of the legal issues are similar. She declined at a hearing Wednesday to grant the state’s request for an immediate temporary restraining order in that case.

“What we need most of all right now is a pause. The temperature needs to be lowered,” state Assistant Attorney General Brian Carter told her.

Menendez said the issues raised by the state and cities in that case are “enormously important.” But she said it raises high-level constitutional and other legal issues, and for some of those issues there are few on-point precedents. So she ordered both sides to file more briefs next week.

McAvoy reported from Honolulu. Associated Press writer Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.

A woman covers her face from tear gas as federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Tear gas surrounds federal law enforcement officers as they leave a scene after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People cover tear gas deployed by federal immigration officers outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Federal immigration officers stand outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building as tear gas is deployed Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

An FBI officer works the scene during operations on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)