With playoff seeding at stake, the Sixers take on a crucial homestand. Their approach? ‘Just win.’

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The 76ers’ mindset going into their three-game homestand to close the regular season is “just win.”

“I know Joel [Embiid] will be back Tuesday, and Kyle [Lowry] will be back,” coach Nick Nurse said Sunday. “So we’re just, again, trying to play really well. That’s the main thing. We’ve got to get the results at the end to get where we are at.

“But we’ve got a chance here with the home games to keep this thing rolling a little bit.”

That’s what Nurse said after the Sixers’ 133-126 double-overtime victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday at Frost Bank Center. That triumph extended their winning streak to five games and gave them an outside chance to still clinch the East’s No. 6 playoff seed.

» READ MORE: Wilt, AI, and now Maxey, and other takeaways from the Sixers’ win over the Spurs

The Sixers (44-35) are in seventh place, one game behind the sixth-place Indiana Pacers. In order to finish sixth, they would have to win two of their remaining three games with Indiana (45-34) losing two of its final three. However, the Sixers are in the driver’s seat to clinch seventh place and would host the Miami Heat in a Play-In Tournament game between the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds on April 16.

So the Detroit Pistons (13-65) will face a team in playoff mode when they meet the Sixers on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Center. Then the Sixers will entertain the third-place Orlando Magic on Friday and cap the regular season against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Pacers finish the season with road games against the Toronto Raptors and fifth-place Cleveland Cavaliers before entertaining the Atlanta Hawks.

“We know how important these games are,” Tyrese Maxey said. “It’s playoff time, postseason time.”

Maxey and the Sixers believe their victory against the Spurs will benefit them in the postseason. With Embiid (left knee surgery recovery), Lowry (rest), and Tobias Harris (left knee bruise) all sidelined, several Sixers stepped up in the come-from-behind victory.

Maxey finished with a career-high 52 points on 19-of-41 shooting, also making all 12 of his free throws. He added five rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and just one turnover in 53 minutes, 57 seconds.

His desire to will the Sixers to victory became contagious, as they received major contributions from several unheralded players. One of those players was two-way swingman Ricky Council IV.

After watching the first three quarters from the bench, Council started the fourth quarter and remained in the game through both overtime sessions. He had 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting with three assists and four steals.

“I just want to do something that impresses the coaches and my teammates so that can instill more trust in me,” he said, “so hopefully I can get more time moving forward.”

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid doesn’t need regular-season awards. He’s already won just by being back out on the floor.

Sunday’s victory also put the Sixers a half-game ahead of the eighth-place Heat. Miami (43-35) has four games remaining.

The Sixers are paying close attention to the standings.

“For real,” Council said. “Every morning I go to the standings. I’m like, ‘Hmm, if they lose, they are down. If they lose, they are down.’ That’s one of the first things I do, honestly. I’m glad we moved up.”

Embiid and Lowry (left knee swelling) are still officially listed on the injury report even though Nurse said they would play against the Pistons. Maxey (left hip tightness), Harris, and De’Anthony Melton (spine) are also questionable. Harris has been sidelined the last three games, while Melton has played only five games since Dec. 30.