Tyrese Maxey Has His Superstar Moment To Lift Sixers To Game 5 Win

The Sixers were on the brink of elimination. Joel Embiid was struggling. Everything looked bleak. That was when Tyrese Maxey took over. 46 total points. Including 7 points in the last 30 seconds to send the game to overtime. But he was not done there. He added 5 more in OT, to save the season and lift them to a 112-106 victory.

It was his Superstar moment. He almost had it in game 2. Maxey scored 15 points in that 4th quarter and almost got them the win. But a few questionable calls made that game go the other way. And that performance went unremembered. But we won't forget what he did tonight.

We didn't even mention the 9 assists, or that he shot 17 of 30 from the field and 7 of 12 from 3. But it was this game-tying 3, from well beyond the arc, that will go down as the moment Tyrese Maxey became a true star.

Tyrese Maxey has had games with more points. But he has never had a game this important. Everything was on the line. We were 30 seconds away from a whole day of fans and media alike ripping Embiid apart for his 9 turnovers. But Maxey changed all of that. He saved the team and bailed out his teammate.

Embiid, in his defense, played a big part in the OT win too. His offense was never there tonight. But his defense saved the day on multiple occasions. In the last 2 minutes of OT he had a block and a steal. But without Maxey, we would be looking at Embiid very differently tonight.

That is what Superstars do. Before now, I don't know if the Sixers ever had someone lifting up Embiid like that. There was never a playoff game where Embiid struggled, and Ben Simmons went off for 40. And James Harden disappeared as much as Embiid did in the elimination game last season. Not Maxey.

Tyrese Maxey played like the Super Star we all know he can be tonight. He is the reason this Sixers team still has life. He carried this team across the finish line, to keep their season, and our hopes, alive.

They will now have a chance to even the series up on Thursday night at home. If they can do that, it would all come down to a decisive game 7 on Saturday. We will see if Maxey has another game like this in him.

Despite a tumultuous season, this Sixers team that Daryl Morey put together might be their best chance to win in a while. If they can get through he Play-In tournament, they have a chance to go deeper than they ever have, especially with a healthy Joel Embiid.

The man behind this roster, Daryl Morey, joined Mid-Days with bob Cooney earlier today.

Despite being the 7-seed, and having to tangle with the the play-in tournament, vibes around the team seem to be high. They enter the playoffs on an 8-game winning streak, thanks mostly to the return of Joel Embiid.

The reigning MVP was playing the best basketball of his career before injuring his meniscus in January. When he went out, the team fell apart. They went from comfortably in the 3-seed, to hanging for their lives. And there was concern Embiid would never return at all.

But with only a few weeks left, Embiid made his triumphant return. Suddenly we saw the team that had people so excited earlier in the season.

All of that said, the Play-In Tournament is tricky. You don't get a series against the Heat, you get 1 game. And Anything can happen in 1 game.

You get some wiggle room, in that if you lose you still get a chance at redemption vs whoever wins the 9-10 game. But even if you win that, it means you get the Celtics in the 1st round, instead of the Knicks. Not exactly ideal.

Morey likes his team's chances though. He joined Bob Cooney, and guest host Amy Fadool, on today's Mid-Day show. What did he say? Does he have any concerns? How far does he think his team can go?