NEW YORK — One is the flashy scorer who can take a game over in the blink of an eye. The other is a guy who is counted on to do a variety of things.
Together, they form one helluva tandem on and off the floor.
Philadelphia 76ers guards Tyrese Maxey and De’Anthony Melton bring a great deal to the table to help the Sixers win. The two played key roles in the first-round sweep of the Brooklyn Nets, and they will be counted on to give even more.
For example, Maxey poured in 25 points in a Game 3 win in this series after James Harden was ejected and Joel Embiid was hobbled. Melton was not surprised; he has seen it all before.
“It’s what he does,” Melton said with a smile after Game 3. “We’ve seen it all season, honestly, so I’m not shocked, but I know what he can do and I’m always excited to see him go hoop.”
Most would think that maybe Maxey and Melton would have an icy relationship. Especially, considering the two of them have been in and out of the lineup for one another. There was a stretch where Melton was in the starting lineup with Maxey coming off the bench and then vice-versa, but the two of them have been very close through this entire process.
“It’s funny, people thought that we would be, I guess, beefing or whatever because we’re in and out of the lineups, but literally, on the team, we’re like best friends if you want to say so,” said Maxey. “So it’s like, we cheer each other on in any circumstance, and I get on him for not being aggressive. He gets on me for not being aggressive and I think that’s just something that we have in common is we both want to win really bad, but we both want to see each other succeed.”
Melton showed off some hops during the series with the Nets. He attacked the basket more than in the regular season. That isn’t what Maxey is accustomed to seeing from him, but he isn’t complaining.
“I don’t know where this De’Anthony was in the regular season with dunking, but now he wants to dunk everything and jump high,” Maxey laughed. “We’ll take it.”
Now, the two of them will have to continue to play at a high level with the Sixers advancing.
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