Tyrese Maxey Dominates as Sixers Snag Game 1 Victory vs. Raptors

Just a couple of weeks after battling it out in their final regular season against each other, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors met for the first of seven possible matchups in the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs.

During the regular season, the Sixers didn’t find much success against the Raptors, as they won just one of four games. But both teams knew that the slate was wiped clean before Saturday’s matchup.

The Sixers had a productive showing from their core guys right out of the gate. Tyrese Maxey, who got his first playoff start, created a significant spark in his first ten minutes on the floor. After going 4-6 from the floor, Maxey led the Sixers in scoring as he put up ten of their 35 first-quarter points.

The Sixers didn’t take their foot off of the gas in the second quarter. As they knocked down 54-percent of their shots from the field and hit on all but two of their six threes, Philadelphia outscored the Raptors by ten points, which allowed them to go into halftime with a 69-51 lead.

Toronto looked like they were primed to bounce back in the third quarter, but they couldn’t prevent Maxey from taking charge and going supernova. As the second-year guard checked in for the entire third quarter, he made all but one of his eight shots from the field.

In addition, Maxey went 5-5 from the free-throw line, scoring 21 points in 12 minutes. While the Raptors put up 37 points of their own to prevent the Sixers from burying them, the Sixers still had a notable 107-88 lead going into the fourth quarter. 

During the final 12 minutes of action, it was clear the Sixers were headed towards a big win. In the final minutes of the game, the Sixers allowed several reserves to close the game out as the key starters got the rest of the night off.

Although Sixers superstar center Joel Embiid had one of his quieter performances against the Raptors on Saturday, his supporting cast stepped up and did a spectacular job. Tobias Harris, who checked in for 37 minutes, wrapped up his efficient shooting night with 26 points off of 14 shots.

Meanwhile, Tyrese Maxey was the most productive player on the floor as he scored a game-high of 38 points to snag a new playoff career-high. Lastly, going into the matchup, Sixers guard James Harden had all eyes on him as he was set to participate in his first postseason matchup as a member of the 76ers.

While Harden didn’t have a consistent shooting night, he did a stellar job as the Sixers’ facilitator on the offensive end. In 40 minutes, Harden collected a double-double by scoring 22 points and generating 14 assists. Overall, the Sixers snagged themselves a solid team win as they put the Raptors away 131-111. With Game 1 behind them, the Sixers are now looking forward to Game 2, which will take place in South Philly on Monday night. 

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