3 observations after Maxey’s fantastic night leads Sixers to chaotic win over Heat

[ad_1]

3 observations after Maxey’s fantastic night leads Sixers to chaotic win over Heat originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers breathed a collective sigh of deep relief Thursday night after a second consecutive 109-105 victory.

They earned this one thanks largely to Tyrese Maxey, who was fantastic in their win over the Heat at Kaseya Center.

Maxey had 37 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds. Joel Embiid added 29 points.

Terry Rozier scored 22 points and Jimmy Butler recorded 20 for the Heat.

In addition to tying their season series with Miami at 2-2, the Sixers’ victory boosted their chances of moving into the Eastern Conference’s top-six and avoiding the NBA’s play-in tournament. These are the standings following Thursday’s game:

6. Pacers — 43-34

7. Heat — 42-34

8. Sixers — 42-35

The Sixers were without Tobias Harris (left knee contusion), De’Anthony Melton (lumbar spine bone stress), Robert Covington (left knee bone bruise/illness) and Mo Bamba (illness). Miami’s Tyler Herro and Josh Richardson were sidelined by injuries as well.

ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reported Thursday night that the Sixers signed Jeff Dowtin Jr. for the rest of the season. The 26-year-old point guard began this year with the Delaware Blue Coats, signed a two-way contract last month, and has made seven appearances so far with the Sixers. Dowtin had 41 points and eight assists Thursday in Delaware’s playoff loss to the Maine Celtics.

The Sixers’ final two road games of the regular season will be Saturday night against the Grizzlies and Sunday against the Spurs.

Here are observations on their win in Miami:

Sixers’ star duo starts as dynamic as ever 

Following a two-game absence with left hip tightness, Maxey looked fresh and thrilled to finally be sharing the floor with Embiid again.

On the Sixers’ first play, Maxey took an Embiid handoff, zoomed to the rim and laid the ball in. The Sixers decided to run that same set for several possessions in a row and enjoyed the results. Kelly Oubre Jr. broke free off a back screen for an easy dunk on their second play. Maxey drained a pull-up three-pointer to stretch the…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/3-observations-maxeys-fantastic-night-021830426.html

Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia

Publish date : 2024-04-05 02:31:58

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.