In a back-to-back, the Philadelphia 76ers found the resources to overturn the Washington Wizards in Washington. At their head, a Maxey more leader than ever.
Not content with inscribing his name next to that of Wilt Chamberlain with 150 points scored after four matches, Maxey is clearly establishing himself as the Sixers' new leader, and tonight, the All-Star point guard showed the example by raising his playing level to overturn the Wizards. At the finish, a performance with 39 points and ten assists to defend this stunning invincibility.
Down by 19 points during the match, and still by 13 points with five minutes remaining, the Sixers nibbled away at their deficit to snatch overtime, and then deliver the coup de grace in the five additional minutes.
As a good leader, and whilst Joel Embiid remained seated after exhausting his minutes quota, Maxey was going to score 23 of his 39 points between the fourth quarter and overtime. All supported by a Quentin Grimes again decisive through his three-pointers.
"We had told ourselves that if we brought the gap to -10, we would find a way to win," recounts Maxey about money time. "We brought the gap to -10, and we found a way to win."
Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey reacts after scoring
Watch out for playing time...
For Nick Nurse, his group are showing great resilience since the start of the season, in the image of this success snatched in a back-to-back, away. For Maxey, it is this group's very identity.
"It demonstrates that we are solid," he responds when asked about this capacity to come back in matches. "But we don't want it to become a habit. It nevertheless shows that we are tough, resilient and frankly that we are in form! Because we are capable of playing in this manner, of coming back on the scoreboard, and of doing it several times, like going to overtime in a second consecutive match and still snatching victory."
Except that the reverse of the medal is that this same Maxey played 47 minutes on a back-to-back evening, and that he and VJ Edgecombe are playing a lot. Far too much even, and a way will have to be found to spare them.
"We are still trying to find solutions, and it's not easy," defends Nurse. "In a certain way, we are trying to hang on until certain players return. When we recover (Jared) McCain, we will integrate him into the guards rotation, and that will help to better manage minutes. We are waiting to see if we can recover other players. In the meantime, we must give our all."
This article was originally published on Basket USA.
ID:584613:1false2false3false: from db desktop :LenBod:collect3276: