There was not a lot to be excited about for the Philadelphia 76ers in their Game 4 loss to the Washington Wizards on Monday, but the play of rookie guard Tyrese Maxey was the lone bright spot in an overall ugly night.
On a night where the Sixers lost Joel Embiid to injury, their starters in foul trouble, and Ben Simmons struggling at the foul line, Maxey came in and performed well to give the team a spark.
Maxey had 15 points off the bench with 10 coming in the fourth quarter as he was leading a furious Sixers comeback late. He was constantly getting downhill and finishing over defenders and he also knocked down a triple.
“He just has a lot of confidence,” said Tobias Harris. “He was a real key to that group that was able to get out there and get a run. He was able to get downhill, especially in the pick-and-roll, and then at the same time, he played some really good defense out there to get some stops to keep on running and going.”
Not only was Maxey able to show off his versatile offensive game, but he was also making big plays on defense. He did a really solid job against Wizards star Russell Westbrook forcing him into some turnovers as it was a really impressive performance for the rookie out of Kentucky.
“I thought he was great,” said coach Doc Rivers. “I thought he struggled in the first half, honestly, for whatever reason. In the second half, I thought he was fantastic. He was going downhill, I thought he made some good defensive plays as well, he was involved rebounding, and he was just he really really showed well tonight. I’m very happy for him.”
This was needed from the rookie on a night where Simmons struggled from the line and Harris struggled from the floor. When Philadelphia can get these types of performances out of a young player like him, it gives everybody the spark they need to push forward.
“Guys came in ready,” said Simmons. Maxey, Furkan (Korkmaz), Shake (Milton) came in and did his thing too. We got a lot of depth on this team and a lot of weapons.”
In his first playoff series, Maxey is now averaging 8.0 points and shooting 54.2% from the floor while not being afraid of going against big names like Westbrook and Bradley Beal. He has continued to stay ready while out on the floor.
“The only thing going through in my mind is trying to have this team win,” said the rookie. “I maintained it all year. My job is to stay ready to do whatever coach Doc asks me to do. At that moment, it was time to step up and play big minutes and try to help our team get a W.”
With that being said, it did come in a loss. Now, the focus has to be turned to Wednesday’s Game 5 back in Philadelphia.
“This whole playoff series, he’s been great for us and you saw that in those stretches,” Harris added. “We dropped the ball on this one, but we’ll recoup, get back together, and get it going.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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