Sixers-Cavaliers takeaways: Tyrese Maxey’s clutch play, Cleveland’s horrid shooting, Paul Reed’s energy

Tyrese Maxey was clutch.

The 76ers also benefited from the Cleveland Cavaliers’ inability to finish at the rim and poor foul shooting. And Paul Reed was physical and energetic during what was a solid bounce-back game.

Those three things stood out in Friday’s 104-97 victory over the Cavs at the Wells Fargo Center.

Maxey scored 15 of his team-high 24 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Sixers to victory. The All-Star point guard made five of his nine shots — including his lone three-point attempt — and hit all four of his free throws while playing the entire fourth quarter. Prior to that, Maxey had nine points on 4-of-13 shooting — including going 1-for-4 on three-pointers.

“I was pretty stinky in the first three quarters,” Maxey said. “So I was just like if we can just hang around, and they gave me a chance to make some shots in the fourth to close it out, I told them I got them. So that’s what we did.”

Four of Maxey’s seven rebounds and two of his five assists also came in the final quarter. He also scored the game‘s final four points from the foul line.

“I just think that he was having one of those games where we were getting a good dose of offense from some other people,” coach Nick Nurse said. “He was okay with that. ... But I said ... at the half, ‘We are in good shape here, because Tyrese hasn’t really engaged offensively yet, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to.’ And obviously [he] made a lot of big buckets down the stretch.

“I think he did it right tonight.”

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The Cavs (36-19) suffered from the poor-shooting blues in what was their second consecutive loss. They made just 18 of 30 shots at the rim while shooting 42.5% overall from the field. Cleveland only made 8 of 27 three-pointers. And they also struggled from the foul line, making 21 of 31 attempts.

Before Friday’s game, Reed spoke of bouncing back from Thursday’s horrible effort against the New York Knicks. He accomplished his mission, finishing with eight points on 4-for-6 shooting to go with a game-high 12 rebounds and three blocks.

“You know after having a bad game last night, I had to come and redeem myself — for real, for real,” Reed said. “I know what type of city we are in right now. In Philly, they don’t play. So I got to make sure I’m putting on for the team and for the coaches and my teammates. You feel me?

“That was kind of my biggest thing going out there was playing with a ton of energy, going for every loose ball, playing as hard as I can and letting the results be whatever they are.”

Reed had two points and five rebounds before being benched in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s loss to the Knicks.