MIAMI — The Philadelphia 76ers invaded the Kaseya Center in South Florida for a Christmas Day showdown with the Miami Heat short-handed. They were missing their superstar big man Joel Embiid due to a right ankle sprain as well as key reserve Nic Batum due to a right hamstring strain.
This was a night the Sixers really needed Tyrese Maxey to have a big night and he was unable to do so. The rising star had a tough night finishing with just 12 points on 4-for-20 shooting and he was 1-for-8 from deep in a 119-113 loss to the Heat.
Maxey started 0-for-9 and was scoreless at halftime before he finally got something to fall. A tough layup against Heat star Bam Adebayo, but it was tough sledding all night.
“They did the normal stuff that I see when I’m out there without Jo,” said Maxey after the loss. “The blitzing, the hard showing, but for the most part, I got some really good looks and some shots that I make I don’t know, four or five times out of 10. So I guess it was just one of those days.”
It was definitely a strange performance. Maxey missed a lot of really good looks that he normally makes. He is a much better shooter than what he showed in this one. Everybody knows it, but it was just one of those nights for him.
“Yeah. Gotta flush it,” Maxey added. “It sucks. It really does because a lot of those looks are shots that I shoot every game and there were a couple times where I got a dude off balance, I got so much separation that I was open. It just didn’t go in. I then missed three free throws. I hadn’t missed back-to-back free throws like that in a long time. So it happens.”
The young star also seemed to show some frustration. There was a moment in the third quarter when he went up to each official wondering why he didn’t get a foul call on his way to the basket, but it just wasn’t there for him.
“That happens,” Maxey said bluntly. “I have nothing to say about that. I don’t blame them at all. I blame it all on myself. I couldn’t make a shot. That’s frustration. It happens. It was just one of those days.”
Maxey and the Sixers will move on to face the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.
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