Doc Rivers believes NBA officials should show Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey more respect: ‘That has to get called’

The 76ers want NBA referees to pay close attention to how Tyrese Maxey is being guarded.

“I still think the officials have to get used to his drives,” coach Doc Rivers said. “The whole league, you see what they’re going to do now and they should. They’re riding out down low, because he’s so small they can kind of ride him out of bounds.”

Rivers said that happened “a bunch of times” in a 121-111 loss to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Center. To his credit, Maxey still finished with a game-high 32 points on 11-for-20 shooting.

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“He’s making them,” Rivers said, ”but that’s a foul that has to get called at some point.”

Maxey is averaging 24.2 points on 51.6% shooting, including making 46.8% of his three-pointers through nine games.

He’s been on a recent tear, averaging 29.8 points over the last five games. Maxey made 55 of 97 shots during that stretch, but he has gotten to the foul line only 23 times. He’s also averaging just 4.3 free-throw attempts a game this season despite constant drives to the basket.

What can Maxey do to combat defenders driving him out of bounds on takes to the basket?

“I leave my feet,” he said. “So once I leave my feet, I’m vulnerable. And I’ve just got to make some of them. And then, you know, try to keep my body control as much as possible.”

But he made a point to add that the Sixers don’t make excuses. They just go out and play together as a team, Maxey said.

“The refs have nothing to do with us giving up 100 and how many points we gave up,” Maxey said after the loss in Washington. “We’ve got to look at ourselves in the mirror first.”

Still, Maxey and his teammates were visibly upset about how the game was being officiated. Players were demonstrative when the Wizards got away with no-calls and reacted similarly when the Sixers were called for fouls on the same types of plays.

At halftime, Rivers addressed the officiating, which was getting under some of the players’ skin.

“It’s hard, so I’m not taking shots at the officials,” he said. “Every game is kind of different. Some games are touch games. Some games they allow a lot of contact. I thought tonight it was a little inconsistent, but it was a lot of contact. You could see that.

“I told our guys, ‘Listen, I’ll yell and fight, but stop complaining and play.’ I thought we did that in the third quarter.”

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That’s when the team scored 39 points while making 8 of 12 three-pointers.

But for the game, played on their home court, the Sixers were called for 25 fouls compared to Washington’s 18. In turn, the Wizards made 26 of 32 free throws while the Sixers hit 14 of 20.

The Sixers (4-5) will look to show more composure and get back into the win column when they host the New York Knicks, who are riding a three-game losing streak, Friday night back at the Wells Fargo Center. They will have to do so without James Harden and possibly Joel Embiid, who are dealing with a foot injury and the flu, respectively.