Patrick Beverley thrives in role with Sixers; Tyrese Maxey averaging NBA’s second-most minutes in 10 seasons

NEW ORLEANS — It’s hard to imagine that Patrick Beverley scored 37.3 points per game as a senior at Chicago’s John Marshall Metropolitan High School.

As a 12th-year NBA veteran, Beverley took a career average of 8.4 points into the 76ers’ Wednesday game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center. And he was averaging career lows of 2.9 points through his first 17 games as a Sixer.

But the 35-year-old’s lack of offensive production is a product of the role he carved out for himself after spending the first three seasons of his professional career overseas.

“I just look at it like a veteran Chicago guy, my role to get to the NBA wasn’t as traditional as everyone else,” Beverley said. “So I couldn’t jump off with just scoring. In order for me to get in the door, I needed to do something different that no one was doing, and that was play defense.

“I figured if I play the long game, if I play defense, I figured if I got on the court, my offensive ability would show.”

That was the case during Monday’s 138-94 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. The reserve point guard’s 12 points, four made three-pointers, nine shot attempts, and six rebounds were season highs.

Yet the most memorable part of the night was Beverley locking down Lakers sixth man Austin Reaves, who finished with 12 points and 4-for-10 shooting along with three turnovers. The two had to be separated after Beverley bumped into Reaves following a defensive stop. Beverley commented about the matchup Tuesday morning on “The Pat Bev Podcast with Rone.”

“Every time I see the Lakers until I retire — whatever team Austin Reaves is on — I’m on his [butt],” Beverley said on his podcast.

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His disdain stems from when he faced the Lakers last season as a member of his hometown Bulls. The 6-foot-2 Beverley took exception to the 6-5 Reaves doing the “too little” taunt after making a three-pointer over him.

“How dare you come in Chicago, in my ‘hood,” Beverley said, “and hit me with the ‘too little’ and don’t think that I’m gonna come for your neck?”

What irritated Beverley the most was that he kind of served as a protector of Reaves while playing for the Lakers earlier that season. But him continuing to be fueled by opponents — paired with solid defense — has enabled him to enjoy a long NBA career.

“It worked out,” he said of adjusting his game. “It always does.”

Sixers coach Nick Nurse was known for playing his key players a lot of minutes in his five seasons leading the Toronto Raptors.

So the expectation was that Tyrese Maxey’s minutes would increase from the 33.6 minutes per game he played last season. At 38.4 minutes, Maxey is on pace to average the most minutes in the NBA since Jimmy Butler (38.7) for the Chicago Bulls during the 2014-15 season.

Maxey has played 36 or more minutes in 14 of the first 17 games of the season. He was averaging career highs of 26.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 6.9 assists.

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Danuel House Jr. accompanied the Sixers on their two-game road trip to New Orleans and Boston. He tested his left quadriceps strain during Wednesday’s shootaround but was scheduled to miss his third straight game Wednesday night with the injury.

“I’m better,” House said.

The reserve forward said he doesn’t expect to be out long. The Sixers face the Celtics on Friday.Asked before Wednesday’s game how House was coming along in his rehabilitation, Nurse said “not so great.”

“But we are hoping that tomorrow that .. him and Kelly [Oubre Jr.], especially House, gets through practice, a good portion of it,” Nurse said. “House hasn’t hardly done anything. We are probably a little bit away with him.

“I didn’t know it was going to be that. We’ve been over a week now since he’s done anything, practice or game-wise. I didn’t think it was much there. So it’s a little bit disappointing. But tomorrow we shall see if we can make some progress.”

Oubre Jr. missed his 10th consecutive game Wednesday with a fractured rib.

But House’s injury has come at a bad time for the 30-year-old. Finally getting an opportunity to play key minutes, House proved that he can be a dependable rotation player in his last four games. His highlight was a 14-point effort against the Atlanta Hawks on Nov. 17.

He acknowledged the timing of his injury isn’t ideal.

“But everybody knows it comes with the game,” he said. “You can’t get frustrated. You have to keep working.”