LeBron James Praises Sixers' Tyrese Maxey on Twitter

As the Philadelphia 76ers participated in their second-round matchup against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was tuned into the action.

For the Sixers, their Game 2 performance against Miami as a whole wasn’t exactly ideal. Despite keeping the game within arm’s reach through the first half without their star center Joel Embiid on the floor, the Sixers were struggling from beyond the arc just as they did in Game 1.

Sixers’ young guard Tyrese Maxey has been an X-factor for Philly throughout the playoffs this year, but his progress in the second round has been shaky. In Game 1, Maxey struggled from the field as he hit on just six of his 15 shots in 35 minutes.

Through the first half of Game 2, Maxey couldn’t get it going once again and left his head coach Doc Rivers frustrated with him personally as Maxey put up 11 points in 20 minutes.

If there is one thing everybody has learned about Maxey at this point, it’s that the young standout doesn’t get flustered. Even if he has an off half, he can forget about it and bounce back.

LeBron is Impressed

Maxey entered the second half of Wednesday’s game looking like a completely different player. As he was the hot hand for the Sixers on offense, Rivers allowed Maxey to check-in for the entire third quarter.

During that time on the floor, Maxey hit on four of his six field-goal attempts and was a perfect 4-4 from the free-throw line. He scored 13 of Philadelphia’s 28 third-quarter points. Then in crunch time, Maxey put up another ten points on five shots as the Sixers attempted to form a comeback in the fourth quarter.

While the Sixers weren’t successful, Maxey’s solo performance couldn’t go unnoticed. In 43 minutes on the court, Maxey scored a game-high of 34 points for the 76ers. Unfortunately, it couldn’t translate to a victory as the Sixers came up short once again with a 119-103 loss. 

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