Kyle Lowry is cranky (that’s a good thing) and other Sixers takeaways from a big win over Miami

Kyle Lowry is back to being ornery.

Tyrese Maxey became the eighth guard in 76ers’ franchise history to finish with at least 30 points, five rebounds and 10 assists in a game. And the team is trying to find an identity without Joel Embiid.

Those three things stood out in the Sixers’ 98-91 victory over the Miami Heat Monday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

» READ MORE: Tyrese Maxey’s double-double propels Sixers past Heat in battle of undermanned squads

Sixers coach Nick Nurse said Lowry had some extra juice on Monday while facing the team that traded him on Jan. 23 to the Charlotte Hornets. He signed with the Sixers on Feb. 13, two days after being waived by the Hornets.

“I don’t know if it’s for them or he’s finally starting to settle in,” Nurse said of Lowry’s 12 games as a Sixer. “He was being a little ornery at shootaround today, and he hasn’t been yet. So it looks like he’s getting back to more of himself there.”

Lowry is providing a stabilizing presence for the Sixers (38-30). He sees a lot on the floor and puts his teammates in position to succeed. But he’s actually doing more than just that.

Against the Heat (37-31), he buried two huge shots in the final 3 minutes, 9 seconds. His three-pointer at that time gave the Sixers a 91-87 lead. Then, he scored on a reverse layup to put them up, 95-89, with 1:36 play. The North Philly native also had a big third-quarter steal. For the game, he finished with 16 points and two steals. This was his season high as a Sixer and marked the fourth time he’s reached double figures in scoring over nine starts.

Lowry finally has his legs under him after missing an extended amount of time before signing with the Sixers.

But by being ornery, Lowry is closer to being his normal self.

» READ MORE: Mo Bamba providing energy and effort as Sixers starter: ‘It takes our team to another level’

“Nick said it to me today, he said ‘welcome back’ a little bit before in the morning,” Lowry said. “But I think it’s just one of those things I understand what our team needs sometimes. I’m not trying to overstep boundaries. I’m trying to help my teammates. And I know one thing about coach, he’s going to always let me be me. He trusts me and I trust him.

“We go back a long, long time. He knows me very well. I just want to make sure I’m giving my full self to the team, and being myself and trying to create habits and things that I can help with.”

Maxey finished with game highs of 30 points and 10 assists to go with eight rebounds, making his seventh double-double of the season. In the process, this marked his 48th game with 20 or more points. But the All-Star set the tone early with 17 first-quarter points.

“Yeah, I feel pretty good,” Maxey said. “I know we needed this game. It’s a big time game for us and I think everybody kind of knew that and we went out there and we showed it. Guys really fought their tails off and went out there and were extremely aggressive, and defensively. I think we had a great game plan and went out there and executed.”

The Sixers improved to 12-22 in games without Embiid, who remains sidelined after left-knee surgery. However, Monday’s win marked the third time they won consecutive games without the reigning MVP. The Sixers defeated the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday. Embiid is on schedule to return the first or second week in April.

» READ MORE: Doc Rivers understands Sixers’ challenge to win without Joel Embiid: ‘It’s hard. It really is.’

However, Maxey said it’s “extremely important” that the team is finding an identity as a team without Embiid.

“I mean, going into the NBA season you don’t plan to not have somebody,” Maxey said. “I mean, especially an MVP like Jo. So once you get into that situation, you have to kind of reconstruct things. Reconstruct minutes, reconstruct rotations and all of that takes time, because I was used to playing a little bit in the first and then the whole second. So now, it’s a reverse.”

With Embiid sidelined, Maxey plays the entire first quarter of games. He says guys have to be adaptable. And he believes it’s been good for the Sixers.

“I think guys are playing extremely hard,” he said. “Shoutout to KJ [Martin], he came in and played hard today. Mo Bamba and P Reed were really good today, and Nico [Batum], what he did defensively tonight was special. And he’s done it a couple times this year, but he completely took Duncan Robinson out of the game and that was great.”