Embiid-Less Sixers Win a Thriller in Houston, Tyrese Maxey scores 42

We say it every year. But man oh man the Sixers are playing with a different attitude right now. After Wednesday’s win on the road against the Magic, the Sixers again came out inspired and rallied to beat Houston tonight 131-127. The Sixers were without Joel Embiid with his ankle injury for a second straight game but a slew of Sixers contributed tonight especially in the fourth quarter to get a tough win against a good Rockets team.

Tyrese Maxey played like the superstar he is. He flourished once again without Embiid scoring 42 points on 13-26 shooting, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. There were points in the game where Maxey solely took over the game and provided the Sixers with sparks as they fell behind for the majority of the game. His successful fourth quarter continued and he made clutch shots and loose ball plays at the end of the game. Tobias Harris also added significant contributions without Joel Embiid filling up the stat sheet. He finished with 22 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks. Harris certainly has his moments with no Joel Embiid, with the trade deadline coming in a little less than two months, I wonder if he will start to become more involved in trade talks considering his good play as of recent.

As I mentioned several key plays happened in the fourth quarter by role players, something the Sixers haven’t had for a while. Marcus Morris Sr. and Patrick Beverley led the charge with 9 fourth-quarter points each. Beverly began the clutch play with floaters and nice assisting in play-calling throughout the fourth quarter. The experience of Pat Bev truly showed as he made a clutch pair of free throws and a big-time 3 to take a 123-122 lead with about a minute left in the game. Then, it was Morris’ turn. He received a pass off an offensive rebound from De’Anthony Melton who kicked it out to the North Philadelphian who cashed a long ball plus the foul to push the lead to 5 with 31 seconds left. It would be a lead they never gave up.

The maturity of this team and how they conduct themselves with Embiid and without Embiid should have Sixers fans confidence in them moving forward. It shows when Joel needs refs we can be competitive with a lot of teams in the league. Hopefully, time will tell that Embiid, Maxey, and co. will become even more concise with their play and mesh to the full capacity to brew up a playoff run in the spring. The Sixers play the second half of a back-to-back tomorrow in Chicago at 8 PM.