76ers vs. Raptors: Top 5 Plays From Tyrese Maxey's Career Night
With Joel Embiid out for the night on Friday, the Philadelphia 76ers needed everybody to step up. Typically, James Harden would have all eyes on him as the guy who is expected to lead the Sixers in scoring if the big man isn’t available, but Tyrese Maxey proved to be the hot hand in that department against the Toronto Raptors.
As the Sixers picked up the pace and moved the ball freely, they played a style that catered to Maxey. Since the third-year guard was shooting sharp as ever, they continued feeding the young standout, and he helped lead the Sixers to their second victory by notching a new career high.
Maxey set his original career high during his rookie season. In a game against the Denver Nuggets, Maxey registered 39 points in the blowout loss. On Friday, he finally topped that number in Toronto.
During the first half of action, Maxey was perfect from the field. The young guard hit on all ten of his shots and went 7-7 from deep, scoring 27 points, the most he’s ever produced in one half.
While Maxey proved he was human in the third quarter as he struggled by going 1-5 from the field in nine minutes, he got hot once again in the fourth quarter and put up another 13 points by making all but one of his shots.
By the end of his night, Maxey had 44 points in 39 minutes of action. He drained nine three-pointers and hit on 15 of his 20 shots as the Sixers cruised past the Raptors with a 112-90 victory.
Watch the highlight below and be on the lookout for these five standout plays.
Maxey’s Big Night
Maxey Buries a Prayer
Maxey’s first shot was a special preview of what was to come on the night. Both teams had yet to score a basket, and Maxey felt the urgency with the shot clock running out. Despite having a defender right in his face, Maxey threw up a three-point shot and registered the first points of the night. (1Q 11:21)
A Buzzer Beater to Close Out the First Quarter
Hitting a buzzer-beater shot always adds juice to a team, no matter where it came from. As the first quarter winded down, Maxey brought up the ball with urgency. There were fewer than two seconds left on the clock by the time he made it to half-court. Maxey managed to get a running shot off around the free throw line with 0.3 seconds left. His shot was successful as he gave the Sixers the lead with his buzzer-beater at the end of the first quarter. (1Q 0.3)
Maxey Scores in Traffic Part I
Despite being a smaller-sized guard, Maxey is a fearless finisher. Although he’s proven this many times throughout his young career, it’s always impressive to see Maxey attack the basket when the paint is crowded. With nearly three defenders closing in on him, Maxey was able to get his shot off and used his speed to his advantage as he avoided contact and buried the tough shot. (2Q 9:57)
Maxey Scores in Traffic Part II
The first time Maxey fearlessly attacked the rim in the second quarter, he went right. This time, he went left and didn’t avoid contact. Once again, Maxey’s speed allowed him to dust his defender and go one-on-one with the rim protector. Basically, same shot, different hand, and the same success. At that point, the Sixers were making an impressive run and forced Toronto into a timeout. (2Q 8:59)
Drilling the Transition Three
At this point in the game, the Sixers needed to just milk to clock and take care of their lead. After a cold shooting third quarter, Maxey was heating up again and almost couldn’t miss. After a Tobias Harris rebound, Maxey got possession of the ball and didn’t slow down for his teammates in transition. Instead, he stopped near the perimeter, dribbled through the legs, and got just enough space from the defender to put up a lengthy three-point shot. Nothing but net for his 39th point, which tied his career high. (4Q 5:05)
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
