Tyrese Maxey’s unreal play leads to potential win of the year for 76ers
Offensive phenom Tyrese Maxey made a huge defensive play to seal a win for the Philadelphia 76ers in what might’ve been the game of the year. The Golden State Warriors took the 76ers down to the wire with a stunning comeback, but Maxey and fellow backcourt star V.J. Edgecombe made two clutch plays to win it. After nearly choking a massive lead, the two guards helped snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Tyrese Maxey seals unfathomable win over Warriors with defensive stop
Early on, it looked like the Philadelphia 76ers were going to walk all over the Golden State Warriors. Without Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler, the Warriors seemingly forgot how to score and were down big early on. It looked like a potential blowout, but the Warriors came back.
The Warriors erased a 24-point deficit in the fourth quarter, which is almost as unfathomable as it sounds. This was an epic collapse by the 76ers, but they clutched up when it mattered most, especially Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe. Those two essentially combined to steal a win from the Warriors with two crucial plays in the final second.
Ironically, it was a Maxey jumper that missed with less than a second left, but rookie V.J. Edgecombe cleaned it up with an impressive putback. That gave the 76ers back the lead after Golden State’s outstanding comeback. But that wasn’t all, even with just 0.9 seconds left on the clock.
The Warriors quickly inbounded and threw the ball ahead to De’Anthony Melton, who had somehow gotten ahead of the defense. He had a layup in front of a couple of players. He got it off in time, so it would have won the contest and added to an already thrilling contest.
Maxey sprinted down the court to catch up, using all of his impressive speed to get there, leapt up, and swatted the layup as the buzzer sounded. There’s no telling whether or not the ball would’ve gone in, but Maxey made sure it didn’t.
"I just wanted to make a play," Maxey said via ESPN, "and try to help us win that game." That’s exactly what he did, and he earned praise from his teammates. Former MVP Joel Embiid, known for blocking shots much more than Maxey, said, "The block was amazing. I almost forgot where we actually made the game-winning layup. I had to ask after. I was like, 'Wait, who made a game-winning layup?' That's how good the block was. But obviously, you don't get the block unless someone makes a play."
Maxey echoed that sentiment, deflecting much of the praise to Edgecombe for his outstanding rebound and game-winning basket. "We know he can score, we know he can pass, but he does things that don't show up in the box score all the time," Maxey said of his teammate. "He made a hell of a play. For him to be able to go out there and track the ball, and tip it in like that? That was a great play."
Edgecombe got off to a really hot start while other 76ers were out. But with players like Tyrese Maxey, Embiid, Paul George, and Jared McCain working back into the lineup this season, his usage rate has gone down. Still, the 76ers probably believe they made the best pick, even with how good Kon Knueppel has played. Edgecombe clearly makes up part of a dynamic backcourt that has 76ers fans excited for the future. With how the Embiid era went and how badly Paul George’s signing has aged, that’s a big win for the franchise.
