Sixers vs. Brooklyn Nets Game 3 takeaways: Tyrese Maxey is special; Nets are desperate; Sixers are resilient

NEW YORK – Tyrese Maxey is special.

The Brooklyn Nets are desperate and running out of options.

And this game was another example of the 76ers’ resiliency.

Those three things stood out as the Sixers defeated the Nets, 102-97, Thursday at the Barclays Center in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series.

» READ MORE: Sixers survive Joel Embiid injury, James Harden ejection to take commanding 3-0 series lead

Doc Rivers said a week ago that stars are made in the postseason.

If Maxey wasn’t recognized nationally as a star before the postseason, he should be now.

The third-year guard finished with a team-high 25 points while making 5 of 8 three-pointers against the Nets. He scored 10 straight points in the fourth quarter.

This performance came after Maxey finished with a game-high 33 points in Game 2.

On Thursday, Maxey’s first basket of the second half came with 3 minutes, 8 seconds remaining. It was 10-foot floater to pull the Sixers within one point (92-91).

“He’s a tough kid,” Rivers said of Maxey. “He hung in there. We drew up the play with him and Joel coming out of the timeout. And he wanted that shot. Like he wanted that shot, and that was great to see.”

Maxey’s next two baskets came on a 26-foot three-pointer and driving layup. And his final points came on a 26-foot step-back three to put the Sixers up, 99-96, with 44.7 seconds left. It was their first lead since 8:46 of the third quarter.

“It was just win,” Maxey said of his mindset during the run.

The Nets just don’t enough of the elite players needed to defeat the Sixers. Perhaps that’s why they attempted to get Joel Embiid out of his game by roughing him up and intimidating him.

However, it backfired when Nic Claxton was ejected after receiving his second technical foul. This one came for taunting Embiid with 8:48 left. He taunted Embiid after his dunk on the Sixers center put the Nets up, 87-81.

The Sixers went on to outscore Brooklyn, 21-10, after his ejection.

“He was playing unbelievable for us,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said. “... That’s where we are going to grow from. I told the group they didn’t give up. We are going to grow from tonight whether that is Nic understanding how important he is to us…. But it’s an opportunity for him to grow up which is great.”

» READ MORE: Sixers star James Harden calls his flagrant 2 foul and Game 3 ejection ‘unacceptable’

The problem is Claxton needs to gain weight in order to effectively defend Embiid. At 6-foot-11, 226 pounds, Claxton is too small to be a serious threat for Embiid. That’s why the Nets double- and triple-teammed the MVP frontrunner in the first three games.

But doing that has enabled Maxey and Tobias Harris to roam freely and torch Brooklyn. So the Nets attempted to play bully ball in Game 3 and still lost. This team is definitely running out of options.

This has to be considered one of the Sixers’ best victories of the season.

Embiid hurt his ankle and knee, while James Harden was ejected late in the third quarter. Yet they still found a way to pull the victory.

“It was a grindout,” Rivers said. “We didn’t have our stuff. We didn’t do a lot of things right, a lot of things didn’t go our way. And we just hung in there and won the game. That’s what that was.”

Best performance: This goes to Maxey for the second consecutive game.

Worst performance: I had to give this to Day’Ron Sharpe. The Nets reserve center was a minus -4 in 2:15 of action. His only stat was an assist.

Best defensive player: This goes to Embiid. He didn’t have his normal MVP-caliber performance, overal. But Embiid finished with a game-high two blocks to go with one steal. His second block, against Spencer Dinwiddie with the Sixers up 99-97 with 8.8 seconds left, helped the Sixers escape with the victory.

Worst statistic: This goes to Embiid’s five turnovers.

Best statistic: I have to give this to the Nets’ foul shooting. They made 19 of 22.