PHILADELPHIA – Tyrese Maxey exploded for a career-high 50 points to lead a Philadelphia 76ers team, rattled by the road accident involving forward Kelly Oubre, to a convincing 137-126 National Basketball Association (NBA) victory over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
Oubre suffered a broken rib when he was hit in the chest by a vehicle while walking near his Philadelphia home on Saturday.
He has been discharged from hospital after receiving treatment and was on his teammates’ minds on Sunday.
“This had nothing to do with me, this is all Kelly Oubre, man,” said Maxey, after hitting 20 of 32 shots from the field, including seven of 11 from three-point range to take the 76ers’ record to 8-1 – their best nine-game start since opening 10-0 in 2000-01 en route to the NBA Finals.
With his 50-point haul, Maxey raised his average to 28.6 points in his new role as the floor leader, following the trade of James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers. He also became the first 76ers guard to hit the 50-point mark since Allen Iverson on Dec 23, 2005.
“I had been missing the open threes and I kept telling my uncle that I can’t keep missing them,” said Maxey. “Tonight, they fell.”
The 23-year-old guard, whose previous career high was 44 points, added that teammate Joel Embiid wanted him to hit the half-century mark.
“Joel wanted me to get 50 more than even I did,” Maxey told the NBA website. “When he gave me the ball, he said, ‘You are going to shoot this basketball’. And that’s why I appreciate my teammates, my coaches and the fans. It was a great night and we got the win, which is what matters most.”
He added seven rebounds and five assists at the Wells Fargo Centre with Embiid, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player, racking up a double-double of 37 points and 13 rebounds as the 76ers notched their eighth straight win.
The Cameroonian scored 19 points in the first quarter and the Sixers led by as many as 19 on the way to a 69-60 half-time lead in front of their home crowd.
“We are playing together and trusting each other,” said 29-year-old forward. “It may not look like we didn’t play defence tonight, but (Indiana) plays so fast it’s incredible with the pace.
“So they are going to score a lot, but we just competed. We lowered our guard for a bit, but we had Tyrese to help close it out.”
The Pacers, led by 25 points from Tyrese Haliburton and 22 from Myles Turner, kept chipping away, and took a one-point lead on Aaron Nesmith’s lay-up with 10min 45sec left in the fourth quarter.
The 76ers responded, however, and went on an 18-6 scoring run to regain control.
“This is one of the top two or three teams in the entire league and we know that,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle told the NBA website. “There are certain things that we can and will do better.”
Embiid said they had missed Oubre, adding: “We just want him to take his time, recover and know that we have his back. He’s needed because he’s a big part of us. We missed him tonight, but he should take his time.”
76ers coach Nick Nurse said Oubre should be able to observe practices with his teammates by Tuesday, but there was no timeline yet for when he might return to play.
Nurse added: “It’s a pretty traumatic incident, but he is home and resting fairly comfortably.”
A police report on the incident said a vehicle travelling “at a high rate of speed” struck the 27-year-old in the chest with the driver-side mirror.
The driver sped off without assisting and Oubre was taken to hospital by fire department medical personnel. REUTERS, AFP
