Sixers vs. Hawks takeaways: Another slow start for Tyrese Maxey; Danuel House Jr. paces a strong day for reserves

Tyrese Maxey has a knack for gradually getting into rhythm.

Robert Covington is excelling as an unheralded role player. And the 76ers seldom-used reserves showed they can provide scoring.

Those three things stood out in the Sixers’ 126-116 victory over the Atlanta Hawks Friday night at State Farm Arena.

Here are the takeaways:

It’s as if Maxey is pacing himself.

The Sixers point guard didn’t score in the first quarter for the third consecutive game. On this night, Maxey appeared to go through the motions, missing his lone shot attempt while dishing out two assists 8 minutes, 15 seconds.

But the fourth-year veteran became more aggressive in the second, hitting a pair of three-pointers and attacking the rim as he scored 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting.

Maxey ended up with 19 points, eight assists, and two steals.

The standout has shot 0-for-6 in the first three quarters of the last three games. Yet, he’s averaged 10.6 points in the second quarters. This comes after Maxey scored eight first-quarter points en route tallying a career-high 50 against the Indiana Pacers Sunday night.

The 32-year-old has been the quintessential team player since being acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in the James Harden trade. And this night was no different.

Covington finished with six points on 2-for-4 shooting in his third consecutive start. He made both of his three-pointers and had seven rebounds (four offensive), three assists and one block in 20:24.

Covington only played 3:45 in the third quarter and sat out the fourth. But he kept making the right play, leading to easy buckets for teammates. Positioned in the dunker’s spot, the 6-foot-7 forward would grab an offensive rebound and fire passes to wide-open teammates in the perimeter. Covington assisted on wide-open three-pointers by Maxey and De’Anthony Melton after grabbing offensive boards.

Even though he doesn’t close out games, Covington’s play has been key for the Sixers.

The Sixers’ depth has taken a hit since Kelly Oubre Jr. and Nic Batum have been sidelined. Batum (personal reasons) and Oubre (fractured rib) missed their third and fourth games, respectively, Friday night.

Oubre had been the Sixers’ lethal-scoring starting small forward while Batum was their three-and-D sixth man.

But the Sixers had to go deeper in their bench with the two sidelined. And that has translated into the starters having to carry more of the load.

On Tuesday, the Pacers outscored them, 33-6, in bench points. One night later, Paul Reed, Patrick Beverley, and Jaden Springer were the only Sixers reserves to score. And on Friday, the Sixers trailed, 20-5, in bench points in the first half. Danuel House Jr., who rarely saw action before Oubre and Batum were sidelined, contributed all five of those points.

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But the forward continued where he left off after intermission and other reserves followed with key baskets.

House scored nine points after intermission to finish with 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting. Springer, who closed out the game, added eight points. Beverley and Reed both scored two points. This marked Springer’s second consecutive game appearance after sitting out three of the previous four games.

As a result, the Sixers had a 21-17 advantage in bench points after intermission. They can only hope this is something they can build on.