Joel Embiid singles out Tyrese Maxey after Sixers beat Timberwolves
PHILADELPHIA–The focus for the Philadelphia 76ers after a 127-113 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves is going to be on Joel Embiid after the big fella dropped 51 points and 12 rebounds. The reigning league MVP is on a historic run right now and it doesn’t look like it is going to end soon.
However, as amazing as Embiid was, he can’t do it alone. He needed some help and that’s where Tyrese Maxey came in.
Maxey had a terrific night himself scoring 35 points with 15 of those points coming in the fourth quarter when Philadephia needed it. He shot 6-for-10 in the final frame and he did it all with the Sixers locked in a tight battle.
“He’s been doing it all season,” said Embiid. “That’s our guy. Fourth quarter we know where the ball’s gonna go. We’re gonna go to Tyrese. He plays the full quarter so he gets hot. He’s been carrying us all season long in the fourth quarter so we just know we just gotta give him the ball and get the ball in his hands.”
Maxey has been terrific all season long and Wednesday was just another example of that. With All-Star voting now underway in the NBA, Embiid had a proclamation when concerning his young teammate.
“I don’t think it’s a question,” Embiid added. “He should be—I know there’s not much of a difference, but being a starter is a little different than being an All-Star. He should definitely be a starter. He’s been consistent all season, carrying us, doing whatever it takes, and we’re winning so that counts for something. I think he deserves to be an All-Star, especially a starter.”
What made Maxey’s performance even more impressive was the fact that it against this Timberwolves squad. The No. 1 team in the league at the moment with the best defense in the NBA. Maxey had to battle against the likes of Jaden McDaniels, Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley, and Anthony Edwards all night and he continued to make adjustments in order to make tough finishes look easy.
“Extremely creative, I guess,” Maxey said. “I mean he’s (McDaniels) a really great defender. He’s been like that since we were young. What he does defensively is special I feel like, and then offensively he brings pretty good shooting as well and he can attack off the dribble so kudos to him, but we’re just out there trying to be aggressive. Find different ways to attack, not just him, but they have Rudy out there, Ant, they have some really good defenders.”
The Sixers will now move on to host the Toronto Raptors on Friday.