Joel Embiid, James Harden Rave About Tyrese Maxey's Dominance vs. Raptors

Going into Game 1 of the first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Toronto Raptors focused on Philly's superstars Joel Embiid and James Harden. 

In the first of potentially seven outings, they found out that the Sixers have a stellar supporting cast when they are hot.

Philly's veteran forward, Tobias Harris, had a stellar outing on both sides of the ball. Along with an impressive defensive showing, Harris scored the second-most amount of points for the Sixers on Saturday as he dropped 26 points in 37 minutes.

Harris, Harden, and Embiid played their part in Saturday's win, but the second-year guard Tyrese Maxey took the Sixers to another level against Toronto.

Maxey drained 60-percent of his shots for 15 points in 20 minutes through the first half of action. In the third quarter alone, the young guard outscored his first-half total as he rallied for 21 points in 12 minutes.

Overall, Maxey scored a game-high of 38 points in Game 1 against Toronto. That total marked his playoff career-high as the Sixers cruised past the Raptors with a statement 131-111 victory.

The Team Reacts

"It was pretty spectacular, really," said Sixers forward Tobias Harris. "That third quarter, the stretch that he had. The shots that he was making. The confidence. It was just all coming together. Even from the beginning of the game, he had it going. That third-quarter stretch, we had a couple of possessions early on where we didn’t really get what he wanted. Once we got the ball in his hands, he just got to it. He made his looks and just had it rolling. Hats off to him because he played a heck of a game."

Saturday's game marked Maxey's first playoff start in his young career. While it was a promising sign for Maxey's future with the Sixers, Philly's big man Joel Embiid now challenges the young guard to do it again a few more times.

"I mean, it’s great," said Embiid. "Like I’ve been saying, we all need everybody. So, I am happy that he played so well tonight. He’s been doing that all season, so it’s only one game. We need to do it three more times."

James Harden, who fed Maxey the ball many times throughout the night as he collected a game-high of 14 assists, wasn't surprised at all by Maxey's impressive showing in his first postseason start.

"He was calm out there," said Harden. "He took his shots when they were open. He took his attacks when they were available, and he just made the right play which he's done since I’ve been here. Tonight was no different. He took his shots, and he was ultra-confident, and that’s what we are going to need going forward."

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