Having a 1-4 record to start the brand new season, the Philadelphia 76ers are holding on to plenty of urgency to rise atop the league standings. And on Friday, Tyrese Maxey took over when it mattered the most.
On paper, the Sixers were heavily outmatched against the Toronto Raptors, as Joel Embiid sat down due to an apparent knee injury. But the fact that they were beaten by this Raps team on Friday, the Philly club grabbed up some sort of motivation to pay back.
Maxey led the charge with his 44-point explosion to go along with eight rebounds to lead Philadelphia to a 112-90 Friday dub. During his post-game availability, he explained what went on in his career night.
“It was getting good looks,” Maxey said. “Like me, myself, and the team included. We got to the paint, sprayed off for 3s, got in transition, and once you get stops, the game becomes way easier honestly for not just myself, for all of us, and because we were getting to the paint and driving and kicking, creating, generating offense for everybody.”
Meanwhile, head coach Doc Rivers loved what he saw on the step up that Maxey made without their lead man in Embiid.
“I just think he’s a heck of a basketball player,” Rivers said about Maxey. “We came into the game knowing Joel wasn’t gonna play and we talked to him this morning, the whole team, not him, about trying to find matchups and then spacing the floor and attacking.
“They are a great help defensive team and they can’t stop it. Us getting into the paint sucked everybody in and that’s where we got shots. So I thought we were ready for that and I thought we did a good job.”
The Sixers will look to stretch their winning mark as they fly to Chicago for a face off against the Bulls on Saturday.
