The Philadelphia 76ers had themselves a helluva night against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday as they knocked down a franchise-record 17 triples in the first half–the most for 3-pointers made in a half–on their way to a franchise-record 23 3-pointers made in a 131-122 win over the Pacers.
At the center of all of that was second-year guard Tyrese Maxey. The 21-year old knocked down seven 3s in the first half on his way to eight for the game as he finished with 30 points on the night in the win.
Probably the most important number was the fact that he put up 11 of them. Going 8-for-11 from deep is a huge development for Maxey as the Sixers encourage him to shoot the ball.
“I don’t think I’ve ever shot 11 3s in a game, to be honest,” said Maxey. “I think I made like six or seven in high school a couple times, but I don’t think I’ve ever shot 11.”
Maxey understands that he has to be able to knock down those shots playing next to superstars like Joel Embiid and James Harden. When he gets those open looks, it is on him to be able to step up and knock those shots down.
“I got some open shots and I tried to make them,” Maxey explained. “That’s really about it. It’s my job to space the floor and Jo and James when they play their two-man game and make sure my man can’t help.”
With that being said, this is a product of the hard work the young guard has put in. There have been countless hours in the gym where he has put a ton of shots up and he is seeing the fruits of his labor play out on the floor.
“Any time I get my feet set, I think it’s going in,” he added. “It’s just a lot of work that I’ve put in on the shot. Just trying to stay steady, stay consistent, and I think that’s really just the key.”
Maxey finished one triple shy of tying the team’s 3-point record for 3s made by a single player. Embiid was pushing him to get the record.
“It was good, but I told him to go for the record so that wasn’t good enough,” Embiid joked. “But it’s good. I mean it’s developing. I said in the past, he works on this game, he’s committed, he wants to get better, and you see the results.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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