How James Harden Helped Unleash Tyrese Maxey vs. Knicks

The James Harden era in Philadelphia has been off to a great start. Not only because the Philadelphia 76ers have been getting quality production from the ten-time All-Star when he's on the court, but also because Harden's leadership has helped unleash other guys around him.

Over the weekend, the Sixers paid a visit to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. In the first half of that matchup, Sixers veteran forward Tobias Harris came up scoreless. Harden, who noticed that Harris was playing outside of his comfort zone, found a way to get Harris to bring himself together.

"There were opportunities where Tobias had four or five catch-and-shoot opportunities that he passed up and tried to dribble past somebody," said Harden on Sunday. "That's the thing that I'm gonna stay in his ear about is he got those opportunities. I don't care if you miss 20 of them. Those are shots we need you to take because more times than not, you're gonna make those shots."

Harris scored just two points in three-quarters of that Sunday afternoon matchup against the Knicks. After Harden stayed in his ear, the veteran went ahead and collected a team-high of ten points in the fourth quarter, helping the Sixers go on and secure a comfortable win against the Knicks.

New Game, Similar Situation

Two nights later, the Sixers faced the Knicks once again. Except that time around, they played in Philadelphia. Through the first two games of the Harden era, the Sixers got stellar production out of Harden, Joel Embiid, and the rising star Tyrese Maxey.

However, Maxey struggled in the first half of Wednesday night's matchup. In his first ten minutes on the floor, the second-year guard scored just four points. In the next six minutes he played in the second quarter, he went 0-2 from the field. Maxey had four points off five shots by halftime as the Sixers trailed seven points. 

Similar to how he motivated Tobias Harris on Sunday, Harden got in Maxey's ear about his first-half performance. 

After the game, Maxey revealed what went down at halftime.

"James came up to me and asked me if I was gonna play today," said Maxey. 

The young guard then flipped the switch.

New Half, Different Game

Tyrese Maxey exploded in the second half of Philly's Wednesday night matchup versus the Knicks. The young guard went 2-3 from the field in his next ten minutes on the court, knocking down two threes. He also went 5-6 from the charity stripe, collecting 11 points in the third quarter and helping the Sixers get out in front.

In the fourth quarter, Maxey kept his foot on the gas. With a little under nine minutes of playing time, he drained all but one of his four shots from the field. By adding another two free throws, Maxey contributed to ten points in the fourth quarter and helped the Sixers secure a 123-108 victory over New York.

"We need him to be aggressive a lot of times in the game," said Harden. "I know it's difficult because, obviously, myself and Jo got the ball, but when he has an opportunity, he needs to be aggressive, and we need that. In that second half, he played like we all needed him to play, and he knows how to play, and he looked great."

Maxey wrapped up the game with 25 points in 35 minutes. It was the third-straight matchup he notched over 20 points.

"I gotta be aggressive," Maxey claimed. "I can't show stretches like that being passive. I gotta help these guys out, and we gotta help these guys out as a team as much as possible." Harden's 26-point effort was definitely key to Wednesday's win, but his motivational tactic for Tyrese Maxey might've been the factor that sealed the deal for a fourth-straight Sixers win. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.