Paul George may have had the first word on Thursday night in Milwaukee, but Tyrese Maxey made the loudest statement of them all as the Sixers beat the Bucks in Milwaukee on Thursday night.
In his second game of the season, George scored the Sixers' first 11 points. He looked as dynamic of a scorer as he has in many, many months. He supplied steady doses of scoring and shot creation as the night went on, but as this game neared its end and George neared his minutes limit, it became more clear that the contest belonged to Maxey, who carried his team on offense for the remainder of the game, scoring a career-high 54 points in 46 minutes the night after playing 40 minutes against the Toronto Raptors.
The Sixers nearly squandered a chance to beat the Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Bucks due to a lack of offensive firepower, but they had just enough scoring to get by thanks to George's early explosion and Maxey's outright dominance. The Sixers badly needed a superstar showing from Maxey and a star showing from George. They got both – and still needed five extra minutes before securing a 123-114 victory.
On Maxey and George's standout nights, plus more from the Sixers' ninth win of the season:
### Paul George makes waves with an early barrage
In his season debut on Monday, George knocked down a three-point shot on the Sixers' opening possession, then drew a three-point shooting foul and made a pair of free throws to begin the game on a personal 5-0 run.
George one-upped himself Thursday, scoring on each of the team's first four possessions. He broke down Myles Turner off the dribble to take advantage of a mismatch to begin the action, finishing through contact at the rim. Then came a three... and another three... and another three. It was the sort of scoring eruption the nine-time All Star was almost never capable of putting together during his first season in Philadelphia:
Putting too much stock in one game is a fool's errand, but for much of Thursday's game George looked far more spry in his limited minutes than he did last season. He was able to create separation as a ball-handler, creating and capitalizing on advantages. Last year, George never felt capable of forcing defenders to play on their heels; against the Bucks he was very much the one playing with leverage.
George consistently inciting fear in opposing defenses is not just an important component of his scoring, but also his ability to create quality looks for others. The first Sixers basket of this game not scored by George was an alley-oop slam he threw to VJ Edgecombe. In the second quarter, George drew a help defender as soon as he touched the ball in the middle of the floor and then found Quentin Grimes for a three.
The Sixers have experienced plenty of offensive growing pains in recent weeks. Having a 6-foot-8 shot-maker of George's caliber with the ability to make plays as a passer is an enormous floor-raiser for any offense.
### Tyrese Maxey never stops scoring like a superstar
While George's initial scoring outburst set the tone for the Sixers, it was Maxey's brilliance that kept them afloat all night long and eventually netted them a victory. Maxey entered Thursday's game second in the NBA in total points, and the sixth-year guard looks more and more like a superstar with every passing game. He took a back seat in the opening minutes of this game, then put his foot on the gas, scoring 12 points in the opening frame and continuing to tack on from there.
Maxey was relentless, a strong follow-up to Wednesday's loss when he failed to build on a stellar start and, in the view of Sixers head coach Nick Nurse, did not take enough shots. Maxey is handling a truly absurd workload in terms of both minutes and on-court responsibilities, and he is taking it all in stride. It is admirable, even if there are times when it does not feel sustainable or prudent.
If one thing stood out from Maxey's scoring on this night in particular, it was his ability to get the job done in the in-between game. Maxey's ability to score and pass while playing at full speed en route to the basket has been outstanding all season; he has relied on his floater more often and it has paid dividends. It has also helped him as a creator on plays like this one from Wednesday's game:
Maxey's mid-range work and floaters with both hands are terrific. But simply put, no player in the NBA possesses a combination of speed with the ball and pull-up three-point shooting accuracy as dynamic as his. Any player who is a better shooter than Maxey is not nearly as fast; any player who is as fast as Maxey is a considerably inferior shooter. It has always created difficult quandaries for defenders trying to take away both threats, but in 2025-26 it feels as if most players are legitimately hopeless trying to contain Maxey. It is leading him to many more opportunities to leave his mark on games. His three-level scoring prowess never stopped shining in this one, arguably the single best performance of his tremendous NBA career.
### Odds and ends
Some additional notes:
• Jared McCain had a big smile on his face when he got a friendly bounce on a triple to end the first quarter, but his driving layup moments later was much more encouraging:
What was encouraging: McCain playing in this game at all. It is the first time since he tore his meniscus in December that the 21-year-old has appeared in both legs of a back-to-back.
• Justin Edwards had his second straight difficult shooting night in this one, but Edwards got the starting nod and was the Sixers' best defender for most of this one. He continues to be a versatile chess piece of sorts; the Sixers trust him against guards and wings alike. He simply must make spot-up three-point shots; the 21-year-old had a few brutal misses down the stretch of this one but connected on a corner triple to kick off scoring in overtime.
• For the first time in three games, Nurse opted to start the same five-man unit to begin each half. The main loser of the arrangement is Grimes, whose pathway to what Nurse calls "starter minutes" becomes a bit murky.
**Up next**: The Sixers will be back in action on Sunday afternoon when they host the resurgent Miami Heat – right before Eagles-Cowboys.
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