Tim BontempsESPN
PHILADELPHIA – In the days before the start of the first round series between the 76ers and the Toronto Raptors, the focus was on how effective James Harden would be against Toronto’s long, alternating defense. In Game 1 on Saturday night, however, it was another 76ers guard who stole the show. Tyrese Maxey’s 38 points, including a 21-point burst in the third quarter, helped Philadelphia win 131-111 in front of a crowd of 20,610 at the Wells Fargo Center. It was the last emphatic reminder of how far Maxey has come in his second season. 2 About “His speed is a factor,” said 76ers coach Doc Rivers. “We know we have to keep using him in space. Some nights, maybe he will drive to pass. Tonight, he was the one who drove, reached the basket and shot.” Maxey did a lot of that Saturday night, going 14-pro-21 off the field, including 5-for-8 from the 3-point range. While Maxey’s speed was evident last year as a rookie, it’s the improved jump shot that opened up his game. He went from a low-volume, 30% 3-point shooter as a rookie to a 42% shooter in more than four 3-point attempts per game in his second year. On Saturday night, Maxey showed all aspects of his game, shooting shots to the edge, tearing Toronto’s defense to the edge and reaching the foul line, where he went 6-for-7. The Sixers usually play slower than their opponents, but Maxey helped lock in their transitional game on Saturday as Philadelphia made a concerted effort to get out and run. There was no better example than when Harden hit Maxey for a lay-up in the third quarter, like a quarter hitting a wide receiver on a track. “He is running and you have to reward him,” Harden said. “He’s a great finisher. He’s playing the right game. So I’m just trying to convince him to keep going.” Maxey’s performance was just one of many Philadelphia superpowers in the front row. Harden did not yet have the kind of explosion that the 76ers would like to see in color, making a 2-for-10 in a 2-point shot, but he still finished with 22 points. Much of that was thanks to his 3 signing points and he finished 4-to-7 from the 3-point range. Harden also had five rebounds and 14 assists in just one upset. Joel Embiid, meanwhile, also struggled to shoot, going 5-to-15, but had a physical presence inside, finishing with 19 points and 15 rebounds, including four offensive boards. He also had four assists and no errors. “I mean, it really starts with me,” Embiid said. “I’m not disappointed. I kind of invited the double and triple teams that sent me all night. I was just trying to play the right game, whatever brings us victory. I said it. Having played against them for so long, especially the same coach “I know how they think and how they want to play, especially defensively, so I think all I have to do is play the right games over and over and over again and I thought I was very good tonight.” Tobias Harris, meanwhile, had 26 points on a 9-for-14 shot to go with six rebounds and six assists, and Philadelphia as a team overturned many of the considered advantages for Toronto to enter the series. Philadelphia had just four caps as a team compared to seven for the Raptors and had a 10-7 lead on offensive rebounds – two areas the Raptors were expected to control. “It was a great game individually for some kids,” Harden said. “Then for the team, the things we talked about last week, the basketball rebound, not overturning basketball and giving them opportunities, I think we did a good job tonight.” After taking over the reins at the training camp as the team’s starting guard, when Ben Simmons did not show up after asking for an exchange, and then knocked hard next to Harden after Simmons was sent to Brooklyn, Maxi showed again on Saturday how important he has been to Philadelphia title hopes. “Tire is great,” Harris said. “He has a game and takes out his butt. “I mean, he understands. He understands that you put in the work and great things are happening to you tonight. You know, tonight was proof of that.”
