Picture Credit: Twitter
Philadelphia 76ers dominated the first match as they defeated the Toronto Raptors 131-111. But this victory wasn’t led by Joel Embiid or James Harden, whereas it was second-year guard Tyrese Maxey who scored historic 38 points with four rebounds and two assists. The 21-year-old shot 14-for-21 from the field, including 5-for-8 from the 3-point range.
As Tyrese Maxey went on to become the youngest 76ers to score 30+ in the playoffs, the 20,610 Philadelphia fans gave him an incredible standing ovation. The sold out Wells Fargo centre was chanting "Maxey! Maxey! Maxey!" as the Sixers took a 1-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.
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He's a great finisher, he makes the right play: Harden
Fellow guard and former MVP James Harden praised his teammate on his special night. He said, "He's running, and you got to reward him. He's a great finisher. He makes the right play. So just trying to try to get him to keep going. It was a great game individually for some guys. Then, for the team, things that we talked about this past week, rebounding the basketball, not turning the basketball over and giving them opportunities, I think we did a good job of that tonight."
Whereas Sixers MVP candidate Joel Embiid struggled in this game as he scored only 19 points with 15 rebounds while shooting 5-for-15 from the field. He also had four assists with zero turnovers. He said, "I mean, it starts really with me. Not getting frustrated. I kind of invited the double and triple teams they kept sending at me all night."
“Just trying to make the right play, whatever is going to get us the win. I said it. Having played against them for so long, especially the same coach, I kind of know how they think and how they want to play, especially defensively, so I think it's all about me keep making the right plays over and over and over, and I thought tonight I was pretty good", he added.