Doc Rivers keeps promise as Tyrese Maxey leads undersized Sixers over Cavaliers in exhibition win

CLEVELAND — Doc Rivers delivered on his promise.

The 76ers coach had said Sunday that P.J. Tucker would play some center in the final two exhibition games.

One just didn’t think the forward would start at center on Monday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers. But there he was. The public address announcer even introduced him as “a 6-foot-5 center from Texas, P.J. Tucker.”

Tucker got the nod in the 113-97 exhibition victory over the Cavs at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse with regular starting center Joel Embiid back in Philadelphia.

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The Sixers’ All-Star missed the trip as part of his personal training plan.

”It was good,” Rivers said of the Tucker’s performance. “He struggled with knowing this is all the sets. But he’s just so smart. Makes plays. Yeah, I liked it.”

The Sixers unveiled an undersized starting lineup of James Harden (6-5), Tobias Harris (6-9), Tucker (6-5), De’Anthony Melton (6-2), and Tyrese Maxey (6-2).

Tucker, once again, was a selfless role player. The 12th-year veteran was noticeably winded at times. But he appeared to also always be in the right spot. Tucker set numerous screens that led to easy baskets for teammates, and was among the vocal leaders on the defensive end.

“I thought he played great, especially with making the play after the play,” Rivers said. “He had just so much energy. And for a five to chase him around all night, by the end of the night you are exhausted because he doesn’t stand under the basket. He’s running corners to corners.”

The 37-year-old finished with six points while making 2 of 6 shots, including going 2-for-4 on three-pointers, and adding two rebounds and one assist. Maxey continued his preseason scoring tear, posting 19 points, 17 of which came in the first half.

Harris added 12 points and seven rebounds, closely followed by 11 points, six rebounds and four assists from Harden. Melton filled out the stat sheet with seven points, six rebounds, and five assists.

The Sixers (3-0) were also without reserve center Montrezl Harrell, who suffered a right intercostal strain (injured rib muscle) Saturday at their annual Blue-White scrimmage at the Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington. Harrell suffered the injury while protecting teammate Danuel House Jr. from a fall.

“D-House just made a play and kind of lost the ball, and you know, hustling out of bounds for a loose ball,” Harrell said. “When he went to jump over the bench, he wasn’t going to make it. So I just kind of grabbed him out of the air so he wouldn’t slip over the bench so he could fall on me.”

That left the Sixers with just Paul Reed and Charles Bassey as the only real centers available against the Cavs (0-2).

Cleveland center Jarrett Allen finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

One had to know the 6-11 All-Star would feast on the small lineup.

But, early on, the rest of his teammates had a tough time against the Sixers, who opened the game with a 3-2 matchup zone.

At one point, the Sixers led, 21-7, with Allen scoring all of the Cavs points. At that time, he made three of his five shots while his teammates missed all seven of their shots.

Meanwhile, Tucker was holding his own with three points. But his biggest impact was just his mere presence on the court.

The biggest example was when Cleveland was going on a little run after he was subbed out with 4 minutes, 38 seconds left in the quarter. The Cavs eventually attacked the Sixers and made the game competitive for a little bit before the Sixers took control.

Maxey, in his three exhibition games, is shooting 66.6% on three-pointers after making 3 of 5 on Monday. Maxey made 6 of 14 shots from the field on Monday after shooting 78.9% through his first two exhibition games.

Like in the first two games, Maxey set the tempo in the first quarter. He scored 15 points on 4-for-6 shooting while make all three of his threes.

That’s what the Sixers want him to continue to do this season.

“The thing is none of those plays, we didn’t call Tyrese’s number once,” Rivers said. “We’re getting it in transition. He’s playing off the guys. He knows where to space and he’s attacking.

“We believe if you throw it ahead to him, if you are even ahead. ... There’s no one that’s going to be even with him that’s going to keep him from the basket.”

Melton also excelled in his second start in three preseason games. The guard pushed the pace on offense while making the right reads and not forcing anything. Defensively, Melton was disruptive.

House Jr. is showing why he’s expected to be a solid addition off the bench. He finished with 10 points in 14 minutes, making all four of his shots, including a pair of threes. This came after had three points and four rebounds on Wednesday vs. the Cavs.

The Sixers will conclude their preseason on Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets at the Wells Fargo Center.