The Philadelphia 76ers were looking to get on track after a disappointing 1-4 start and a bad loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday to start a four-game road trip.
In the rematch with the Raptors on Friday, the Sixers stepped up to the challenge and earned a 112-90 win thanks to the play of Tyrese Maxey.
The Sixers were missing Joel Embiid on Friday and when a team is missing a star player of his magnitude, others have to step up and fill the hole. Maxey delivered. He dropped a career-high 44 points, and he shot 9-for-12 from deep. He was 10-for-10 and 7-for-7 from deep at halftime in order to lead Philadelphia to the win.
Afterward, Raptors star Pascal Siakam praised Maxey for his efforts.
“How many did he have? 44?” Siakam laughed as he told reporters. “Yeah, I think that’s pretty obvious. He was on fire. Credit to him, credit to them. He played amazing. I think he was 10-for-10 at the half and then kept going. He didn’t stop.”
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The Raptors are one of the tougher teams in the league; they continue to fight no matter the situation. They made it close with Philadelphia, but every time they did, Maxey drove another nail in the coffin.
“Obviously, we didn’t play our best, but it was still manageable,” Siakam added. “He just kept coming back.”
Now, Maxey and the Sixers will take on the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Saturday.
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