Tyrese Maxey lifted the Philadelphia 76ers on his shoulders yet again on Thursday in Milwaukee as he scored a career-high 54 points along with nine assists and six rebounds in a 123-114 overtime win over the Bucks. The 6-year guard out of Kentucky stepped up yet again and refused to let his team lose two in a row.

Maxey played 46 minutes a night after playing 38 in Wednesday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors. He’s now averaging 40.7 minutes per game on the season as he has been a real ironman for coach Nick Nurse to turn to on a nightly basis.

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“I work really hard, man,” Maxey told reporters after the win. “I just worked really hard trying to take care of my body. Al’s been on me, my trainer, he’s been on me since summertime, just about getting the right shape, getting the conditioning, lifting after games, getting treatment, all those different things. So I appreciate him for that.”

Another thing Maxey had to deal with on Thursday was a right quadricep contusion. While he was listed as probable to play against the Bucks, it was still another thing he had to deal with between it being the second night of a back-to-back plus all of the minutes he’s had to play.

“My thigh was definitely hurting, especially last night (Wednesday) really, it was more last night,” Maxey explained. “This morning (Thursday), I woke up, got some treatment for a little bit better, but still, really stiff, but I was like, ‘Listen, I’m about to go out here. If I can run. I’m playing.’”

As far as the basketball is concerned, Maxey is playing at an unbelievably high level. He is throwing his name in the MVP consideration and his shot-making has been terrific. He made a slew of big, tough shots against the Bucks.

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“I work hard and I don’t shoot shots that I don’t work on if that makes sense,” Maxey finished. “I don’t just try stuff. Every shot that I shoot is a shot that I worked on before. So I have confidence.”

The Sixers will take on the Miami Heat on Sunday after a much-needed two days off.

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Tyrese Maxey addresses the minutes he’s playing after 76ers beat Bucks