Succeeding with ‘Maxey-mum’ efficiency
Tyrese Maxey let it fly from the corners and the wings.
He drove to the right side of the basket, then the left. He launched from deep, then tilted his head back to scream as he headed back to the bench for a timeout.
For 27 minutes Friday night at Scotiabank Arena, Maxey literally could not miss. Then in the fourth quarter, his shot-making squashed any Raptors’ hopes of making a late push.
Maxey’s career-high 44 points — including a scorching 27-point first half on 10-of-10 shooting — propelled the Sixers to a 112-90 victory over the Toronto Raptors, providing a jolt to his team in desperate need of one after starting the 2022-23 season a disappointing 1-4.
The guard’s offense anchored a Sixers squad playing without All-NBA center Joel Embiid, who rested a sore knee. Coach Doc Rivers primarily deployed small-ball lineups, using P.J. Tucker (five points, five rebounds) and Georges Niang (five points, five rebounds) at center with a 15-minute stretch of Montrezl Harrell (nine points on 4-of-4 shooting, two rebounds, two assists).
But Maxey is quickly becoming a Raptors killer.
His point total surpassed his previous career high of 38, set in last season’s Game 1 of the Sixers’ first-round series against Toronto. He scored another 31 points during Wednesday’s 119-109 loss in this building, prompting Raptors coach Nick Nurse to marvel before Friday’s game about Maxey’s speed, shot-making and composure as a 21-year-old.
Maxey’s first bucket — an off-balance 3-pointer from the right corner — foreshadowed his personal onslaught. He went 4 of 4 from long range in the game’s first six minutes and hit a runner at the opening quarter’s buzzer.
By halftime he had made all 10 of his shots from the floor, including seven from deep. He also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists.
Maxey finally missed about four minutes into the third quarter, when a 3-point attempt fell off the rim. But his two free throws and a floater late in the period helped quell the Raptors’ rally to slice what was a 19-point Sixers lead to single digits, at 73-67.
Then his driving layup, followed by two 3-pointers, pushed the Sixers’ lead back to 99-81 with five minutes to play.
Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting, 10 rebounds and six assists.
The Sixers traveled to Chicago to face the Bulls Saturday night in the second game of a back-toback set and will finish their road trip on Halloween night at Washington.
Thybulle time
After playing a less than seven total minutes in the Sixers’ first five games, Matisse Thybulle got his first real rotation action Friday and finished with six points on 2-of-6 shooting, three rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal in 22 minutes.
With De’Anthony Melton (13 points, six assists, five rebounds) moving into the starting lineup, Thybulle was the Sixers’ first sub about seven minutes into the first quarter. He hit his first two 3-point attempts, and finished with one rebound, one assist and one block his initial nine-minute rotation.
Danuel House Jr., who had been ahead of Thybulle in the rotation before Friday, also played 10 minutes and finished with zero points and two rebounds. Guard Shake Milton (two points) also played nine minutes in the second half before the Sixers emptied their bench in the final minutes.
Overall, the Sixers’ bench outscored the Raptors’ 26-17.
Improved defense
After a poor performance in Wednesday’s loss against the Raptors, the Sixers defense tightened in Friday’s meeting.
They surrendered 16 fastbreak points, including zero in the first half. The Sixers forced 17 turnovers that they parlayed into 25 points, and they limited Toronto to 9-of-39 shooting from 3-point range.