Tobias Harris comes up big, Buddy Hield’s advice for Tyrese Maxey, and other Sixers takeaways from their Game 5 win
Harris, who scored seven first-quarter points on 3-for-3 shooting, said Nick Nurse called his number in the opening period: “Coach drew up some opportunities for me early on to get me going."
NEW YORK — The 76ers did a great job of trusting in each other.
Buddy Hield made a major contribution from the bench. And Tyrese Maxey did everything in his power to save Joel Embiid’s reputation for disappearing in closeout games.
Those three things stood out in Tuesday’s 112-106 Game 5 overtime victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Getting others involved
The Sixers avoided elimination in large part because they stopped being heavily reliant on the Maxey and Embiid two-man game.
Even though Maxey finished a with career playoff-high 46 points, the Sixers did a better job getting Tobias Harris and Kelly Oubre Jr. the ball.
Harris finished with 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting along with eight rebounds and one block in 49 minutes, 12 seconds. Oubre added 14 points to go with two steals and one block. Embiid produced 19 points on 7 of 19 field goals and game highs of 16 rebounds, 10 assists, and four blocks.
Harris had his best offensive game of the series because the Sixers made a conscious effort to get him involved from the start.
Early on, he left the corner to post up a defender on the block. That movement ended up helping him score the game’s first five points.
» READ MORE: Tyrese Maxey saves Sixers’ season with miracle performance in 112-106 Game 5 overtime win
“That was great, I think just taking advantage of the opportunity,” Harris said of setting the tone. “Coach drew up some opportunities for me early on to get me going. And I think that was just big for myself and overall, and just getting into a rhythm and getting into a flow out there.
“Just play off that type of energy. Yeah, that was great.”
Harris scored seven first-quarter points on 3-for-3 shooting. Kyle Lowry assisted on two of his three baskets.
Hield’s impact
Maxey was upset with himself after missing three fourth-quarter foul shots and committing a costly turnover.
While Maxey was on the bench during a timeout, Hield reached out and grabbed him.
“He … said, ‘You know what you can do,’ ” Maxey said. “ ‘Go out there and make up for it.’ I really do appreciate Buddy for that. I know it’s going to go unnoticed. But it was a big time for him.”
» READ MORE: Tyrese Maxey, new Sixers alpha, wills them to a Game 5 win in New York despite Joel Embiid’s struggles
Maxey’s miracles
Maxey scored 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting while going 4 of 4 on three-pointers in the fourth quarter. He brought the Sixers back from six points down with 25.4 seconds left. The guard scored Philly’s final seven points to force overtime.
His performance took all the attention away from Embiid, who struggled in the fourth quarter. He had two points on 1-for-4 shooting while committing four turnovers. Embiid played better in overtime, but if it weren’t for Maxey’s heroics, the storyline would have been about Embiid coming up small in the clutch.
In seven career elimination games, Embiid is averaging 23.2 points on just 39.0% from the field to go with 5.0 turnovers.