Tyrese Maxey, symbol of the confidence of the Sixers which swells

James Harden and Joel Embiid rested, the Kings lead by 21 points (71-50) in the second quarter… Doc Rivers must have started thinking about his team’s return home to face the Nets on Wednesday . But in his team, Tyrese Maxey did not have that in mind at all.

“When we got back to 10 points, just before half-time, we had a time-out, and I think we were at -18 (-19 in fact, editor’s note). I told the guys that if we reduced the gap to 10 points (before half-time), we were going to win the game. That’s what ended up happening, ”explains the point guard/back bluntly.

With his 32 points (12/29 shooting) and 6 assists, Tyrese Maxey was Philadelphia’s locomotive but he received help from a lot of people. In the absence of the All-Star duo, Montrezl Harrell (17 points, 7 rebounds) notably harassed Domantas Sabonis, as did Paul Reed (9 points, 7 rebounds) off the bench.

« It’s a victory of resilience for our guys » assures Doc Rivers. “Tyrese was phenomenal, but everyone else was. D-House hadn’t played for I don’t know how long. He came in and he made two 3-pointers for us. Everyone who played helped us win this game. »

For Tyrese Maxey, it was the defense that woke up Philadelphia.

“Basically, we just made a few stops, and when you start doing that, you can run and play more freely. Once we play in a more free way, a lot of guys can contribute something. Everyone was putting their shots. Shake (Milton) and Georges (Niang) played well off the bench. Even P-Reed, who gave us good minutes. Even Tobias, who started strong but decided to take his six fouls (laughs). »

For his part, Doc Rivers therefore appreciates the “resilience” of his men, but above all their current confidence. Even at -21 and even without their two superstars, the Sixers never imagined letting go.

« We were trailing by 21 points and all we were talking about was winning the game » concludes the coach. “We did not panic. At each time-out, we talked about the victory. We hooked up. And when we came back in the third quarter, we took control of the game. » And control of 2nd place in the East (30 wins – 16 losses).