PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Tyris Maxi made Sixers fans roar “Maxi! Maxi!” Maxi! Maxi! ”After every electrifying game – and he crammed the value of the season into the breakthrough game of his young career.
He even threw the ball, which gave an autograph as the star of the 76ers match, in the stands – where a fan grabbed with both hands.
It all worked out for Maxi.
Maxi scored 21 of the highest in his playoff career 38 points in the third quarter and scored five three points to lead Philadelphia to a 131-111 victory over Toronto in Game 1 on Saturday night.
“I think the only thing I will remember is our victory,” Maxi said.
Philly will remember much more.
James Harden scored 22 points and 14 assists in his first playoff game in the Eastern Conference as Sixer. Joel Embiid, the NBA champion, scored 19 points and 15 rebounds. They combined only 11 of 32 shots from the floor.
Tobias Harris scored 26 points for the Sixers, trying to get through the second round for the first time since 2001.
They host Match 2 on Monday.
The opener belonged to Maxi. Maxi, 21, is the youngest Sixer to ever score at least 30 points in a playoff game.
“I saw growth, man,” Harden said. “I saw him from top to bottom and without really constant minutes last year in the post-season until the start and a huge role in a team that is fighting for the championship.”
Maxi was cool and confident in the third, shooting with 32 feet at the end of the period for a 20-point lead, which sent his teammates to the bench in a rage. The Raptors were stunned and had no answer for him: Maxi made 7 of 8 shots, both 3s and all five free throws in 12 minutes.
Alas!
“He just doesn’t play with anxiety,” said coach Doc Rivers. “There aren’t many things that irritate him.”
Pascal Siakam scored 24 points for the Raptors, who lost rookie Scotty Barnes to an ankle injury to make the miserable night worse. OG Anunoby scored 20 and Fred VanVleet added 18.
The story continues
“Collectively, as a team, we just didn’t match the intensity,” Siakam said.
Sixers took control in the first 24 minutes and Maxey pressed the gas in third against a team that won the season series 3-1 (with Embiid and Harden in the lineup for the last two).
Maxi, a 6-foot-2 bundle of energy in his second season outside of Kentucky, led a quick start early with a pair of 3s and 10 quick points that made the Sixers move with a double-digit lead.
The Sixers are the team of Embiid and Harden, and as they go, so are the Sixers. But Maxi gave the 76ers the Big 2 3/4 and was more than a capable substitute for the traded Ben Simmons.
Maxi is emerging as a reliable option for scoring points – 18.7 points and 48% on 3s after the All-Star break – and was on target after a shot against Toronto. He made 6 of 10 shots and his 15 points in the first half were slightly less than his high set in the playoffs last season in Game 6 against Atlanta.
Oh, yes. Atlanta. The Hawks were still on the verge of Philly this week as the stench of three losses at home and relegation in the second round when the No. 1 seed dissipated this season.
The Raptors rose to 11 in the third, but Harden – the bold acquisition of a trading deadline made for those moments – buried 3 and layup.
Harden then bounced with both hands from the middle of the court, which Maxi caught in the act of flying high, back. The Sixers, led by 18, Toronto announced a timeout and the Philadelphia crowd was furious.
The Sixers beat the Raptors 29-10 in quick break points.
“He runs. You have to reward him, “Harden said of his top-turn pass. “He was running so fast and we had the opportunity to take advantage of the transition.”
The Raptors did not cause a serious challenge until the end of the first half. Embiid was hit with a deafening blow after hitting Barnes while driving. Barnes made 1 of 2 free throws and the Raptors scored to make it 48-42.
However, Embiid made the Raptors pay moments later. He laughed at the bucket and forced VanVleet (who went bankrupt in the fourth) to his third foul. Embiid made the game three points ahead of 57-42.
Maxie took it from there.
“He’s been doing this all season,” Embid said. “It’s just a game. We have to do it three more times. “
COACH ROOM
Barnes grabbed his left leg and was in obvious pain as Embid stepped on his fourth. He needed help in the locker room. Barnes, the leading rookie contender of the year, averaged 15.3 points in 74 games. … F Thaddeus Young to the left with a sprained left thumb. Coach Nick Nurse said the X-rays of both players were negative.
CRY GROUP
A nurse who led the Raptors to the 2019 NBA Championships felt that five fouls awarded to Embiid were not enough.
“I don’t care if you’re 5 feet 11 and 160 pounds, if you beat him on the spot and he runs over you, it’s a foul,” said the nurse. “I thought he threw three or four elbows in his face. They called him one. We will stay there. “
TYPE-INS
Raptors: There were only two offensive fights in the first half. … Chris Boucher also fouls.
76ers: Rapper Mick Mill and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. sat on the court. … There were no deviations in the first half. He turned the ball over in the first possession of the second half. and made only three in total. … Mathis Tibul scored three points in 19 minutes. He will not be available for Games 3 and 4 in Toronto because he has not been fully vaccinated.
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