The Philadelphia 76ers walked away with a tough and gritty 123-114 overtime win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night on the second night of a back-to-back. It was an impressive showing for this group to get the job done after having to travel from Philadelphia after a tough loss and it also snapped an 8-game losing skid against the Bucks.
Tyrese Maxey had a career-high 54 points and nine assists to lead the way for Philadelphia. Paul George added 21 points and five rebounds in 25 minutes. Quentin Grimes added 14 points off the bench, VJ Edgecombe had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Andre Drummond added eight rebounds before fouling out in the extra session. Jared McCain added eight points.
Here are the biggest takeaways following the win:
Maxey has to be in MVP conversations
After this performance, Maxey is up to 31.9 points, 7.8 assists, and 4.7 rebounds while playing a ridiculous 40.3 minutes per night. The Sixers are sitting in a good position because he has thrown them on his back when the time calls for it, and it’s because of these moments that he should be considered in the MVP conversations. He has constantly been a guy the Sixers can just throw the ball to and he will step up and get the job done. This was an impressive showing as he refused to let the Sixers lose this game.
George looking like himself
The Sixers received a strong outing from George in this one. He really set the tone from the jump with 11 straight points to start the night and he knocked three triples in succession. Overall, he shot 7-for-12 from the floor, 4-for-7 from deep, and had five rebounds and three assists. If the Sixers are going to continue to get this version of George as they move forward with the season, then they can seriously be considered contenders in the East. It’s going to be the play of George and Joel Embiid that will decide whether Philadelphia will be able to take that next step up in the conference.
The others stepping up in the extra session
It had been a miserable night for Justin Edwards as he shot just 1-for-8 from the floor and 0-for-6 from deep in regulation. He deserves credit for playing terrific defense, but he had a number of wide-open shots to really seal the win in regulation and he wasn’t able to convert. That changed in overtime as he had five points in the extra session and he knocked down a big 3-pointer to start overtime. Dominick Barlow also deserves credit for filling in as a small-ball 5 when Drummond fouled out. He made some big defensive plays and helped create extra possessions. Teams need the supporting cast to step up and make plays and Edwards and Barlow filled in nicely for Philadelphia.