In the Philadelphia 76ers’ loss to the Miami Heat on Christmas, with Joel Embiid out and back home as the team begins a road trip, Tyrese Maxey took the most shots for the Sixers. But only four of his 20 looks found the bottom of the net, making him a major factor in the 119-113 loss.
Maxey faced a ton of defensive pressure from the Heat, who were without Jimmy Butler. He was able to manufacture open looks but just failed to take advantage of any of them in the whole first half and for most of the second half. Facing challenging situations like this is key to his development. This game ended up being one where he responded very poorly.
“I mean, they did like the normal stuff that I see when I’m out there without Jo — the blitzing, some hard showing,” Maxey told reporters after the game. “But for the most part, I got some really good looks and some shots that I make, I don’t know, four, five times out of 10. So, I guess it’s just one of those days.”
Maxey has attempted 20 field goals in one game on 29 occasions throughout his career. This game saw the fewest makes, with the next closest being seven. The Sixers got 52 combined points on 19-34 shooting from Kelly Oubre Jr. and Tobias Harris but Maxey being so inefficient made it much tougher to steal the road win.
“Gotta flush it. It sucks,” Maxey said, explaining that “a lot of those looks are shots that I shoot every game. There was a couple times where I got a dude off balance, I got so much separation that I was open. It just didn’t go in. I missed three free throws. I hadn’t missed back-to-back free throws like that in a long time. It happens.”
The Heat got big performances out of Bam Adebayo and Jaime Jaquez Jr. but the Sixers, despite trailing by as much as 21 in the second half, kept it close thanks to a stellar third quarter. Maxey contributed five assists and kept shooting throughout the game, the proper response to shooting slumps from guys as talented as him.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse agreed that tonight was just not Tyrese Maxey’s night. He recognized his level of aggression but did say that he could have taken a few more shots down the stretch.
“They certainly had some schemes in to double-team him and not give him a ton of space and things like that. They made him work,” Nurse said. “I do think that he got to some pretty good places and just kind of had one of those nights, you know? I thought he had some really good looks, especially early from three. Thought he got into the paint a few times. I thought they played him pretty physical. They weren’t really calling the bumps on the drives at the start. Maybe that affected him a little bit, but can’t let that affect him. I think more than anything, it was just one of those tough nights for him.”
When asked about the officiating, Maxey redirected the blame to himself for missing his shots. The Sixers guard did throw his hands up after being bumped numerous times (and should have drawn a few more whistles). But his focus on what he can control is great to see.
Tyrese Maxey and the Sixers will have the chance to bounce back on Wednesday against the Orlando Magic.
