Maxey’s 39 Buries Clippers as Sixers steal a 110-108 Thriller in Another Comeback Win

Tonight was an anticipated night for the Sixers, as they welcomed back Paul George to the lineup. His return comes just as Kelly Oubre Jr. goes on the shelf, and Joel Embiid not playing tonight with knee soreness. As for the Clippers, George’s former team comes into South Philadelphia a little banged up as well, looking to turn things around.

PG came out in a big symbolic moment, knocking down the first three points of the game, and pulled down a rebound on the other end of the court. The first half didn’t continue the shooting presence, though. The Sixers outplayed the Clippers, yet trailed by 10 at the half despite having only 2 turnovers, pulling down 3 offensive rebounds, making 5/7 free throws, and scoring 14 points in the paint.

The second half was set to get off to a rough start with the Clippers and Sixers being two of the worst third-quarter teams in the NBA this season. The Sixers went on a 10-0 run, but every time the Sixers would pull away, the Clippers fired back, and they kept the lead around 10 the entirety of the third and most of the fourth. What they didn’t account for is the late-game heroics of Andre Drummond. Dre ran the floor from goalpost to goalpost and kept the mall moving down the court. He was the catalyst for the Sixers’ 14-3 run to take their first lead since the opening shot. Down the stretch, the Sixers just poured it on, and in a tightly contested game down the stretch, they took home an exciting 110-108 comeback win.

One thing we have to realize is that in the games where Embiid is in street clothes, is that the Sixers absolutely must get good outside shooting to stay in games and play small ball. In the first half, this was very obvious in the first half, and was a contributing factor to the Clippers having a 10-point advantage going back into the locker room for the half. The Clippers were 4-10 from outside, and the Sixers were 0-7 in the half, with Tyrese Maxey missing three by himself.

When the Sixers are out of sync on offense, the best thing to do is to keep it simple and get the ball into the hands of hot shooters to trim down the lead. Late in the game tonight, Maxey overcame the slow start to bring the team back into the game, with not just driving to the bucket, but he kept shooting, and he found the touch, and brought the Sixers back.

The fourth-quarter comeback tonight was built on three things: the Sixers shot the ball much better down the stretch, which opened up the lane to drive, and their gritty play in the fourth made the comeback win happen. Quentin Grimes not only had the most difficult defensive assignment off the bench in covering James Harden, but in the fourth quarter, he poured on the points, including a huge three late in the fourth to keep the lead. He ended the game with 19 huge points.

Just to prove how important this is, the Sixers three point shooting in the first three quarters: 5/22, however in the fourth quarter with 2 minutes left: 6/9, where they took the lead and won it in a boat race to the end, and the Sixers end up with yet another clutch win, coming from behind in the fourth for the fifth time this season. What we thought at the start would be the George revenge tour ended up being a gritty team win with Maxey leading the way with 39 points and 6 rebounds.

The Sixers will welcome in the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night. Let’s hope they don’t find themselves in a shooting hole early on where they have to come back when down double-digit points going into the fourth quarter.

Steve Hamilton

Steve may have been born in California, but don’t let that fool you. After dating a local woman and clashing with her and her family over sports for decades, he has an affinity for Philly sports. Balancing love for Philly and Bay Area sports teams may seem impossible, we can all agree that the Cowboys are the true evil.

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