Sixers Praise Tyrese Maxey's Fourth Quarter Performance vs. Hawks

On Friday night, the Philadelphia 76ers found themselves in a tight matchup with the Trae Young-less Atlanta Hawks. They were able to pull away in the fourth quarter thanks to the play of their rising star.

Tyrese Maxey was having a rather off night through three quarters but managed to come alive in the final 12 minutes. 16 of his 30 points came in the fourth quarter, including seven free throws.

With this last burst from Maxey, the Sixers were able to walk away with a 125-114 win over the Hawks. This marks their second straight victory and moves them to 14-7 on the year.

Following the win, multiple members of the Sixers praised Maxey for his fourth-quarter performance. First up was Nick Nurse, who liked seeing the young guard step up in a big way during a close game.

"First thing I said to the coaching staff afterwards was he made a lot of plays in the fourth quarter and one of them said, ‘He’s pretty amazing he can get 30 when he’s not having a very good night,'" Nurse said. "He ended up having a really good night because he made a lot of big shots there late. So, again, he’s capable, he’s explosive, he’s capable of putting a run like that together at any time, and it was a good time tonight, and to stay with it, I think he was just in a great groove most of the night, but he came through when it mattered."

Joel Embiid also praised his new running mate for his play down the stretch. He brought up Maxey's aggressiveness, something he's been preaching to him all year. "He was great. We keep telling him, we keep reminding him, he has to be aggressive, especially at the start of the game, but he was great. He controlled the whole game, got to the free throw line, made some big shots, made some big plays," Embiid said.

Throughout the course of the season, Maxey has been known to come alive in the fourth quarter. After his outing on Friday, the Sixers star now leads the entire NBA in fourth-quarter scoring. His 161 points put him just ahead of names like Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, and Sacramento Kings All-Star De'Aaron Fox.

Most points in the 4th quarter this season:

161 — Maxey
159 — Giannis
152 — Fox, LeBron pic.twitter.com/seYw8Ew23v
— StatMuse (@statmuse) December 9, 2023