Tyrese Maxey showed the Sixers he can lead them when Joel Embiid is out

CHICAGO — Tyrese Maxey’s numbers in short stints without Joel Embiid mean so little in the grand scheme of things. On those occasions, the 76ers are generally trying to generate offense in a staggered lineup until Embiid checks back into the game.

But visible in their four-game road trip, the Sixers have found out that Maxey can excel and lead them to victory for an entire game without Embiid.

With the reigning MVP sidelined with a sprained right ankle, Maxey eventually found his groove as the Sixers’ No. 1 option.

After struggling in a Christmas Day loss to the Miami Heat, he averaged 28.3 points and 4.3 assists against the Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, and Chicago Bulls.

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The Sixers (22-10) went 2-2 on the road trip after defeating the Magic and Rockets while losing to the Heat and Bulls. While those two victories may not seem like much, they showed something. They were the first two wins this season in seven games without Embiid. And Maxey played major roles in both wins.

He scored a team-high 23 points on 9-for-18 shooting, including making 3 of 6 three-pointers in Wednesday’s 112-92 victory over the Orlando Magic at the Kia Center. Twelve of Maxey’s points came in the second quarter on 5-for-7 shooting.

Two nights later, he finished with a game-high 42 points in a 131-127 victory over the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center. He tallied 27 of his points in the first half. He shot 13 of 26 from the field to go with four rebounds and four assists.

“I think that we are on this road to him being a legit star player in this league,” coach Nick Nurse said. “I don’t know when we are going to stop saying we are on the road and we’re there, right? Probably pretty soon. These are nights that are good for him again to continue to figure out how to explore different situations and keep the team moving forward.”

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This road trip provided Maxey a great opportunity to run the team without the luxury of Embiid’s presence.

He kept executing even when it was tough for the Sixers in Saturday’s 105-92 loss to the Bulls at the United Center. He continued to search for ways to get shot attempts and score. And he kept playing through the physicality.

“I mean he was getting bumped all over the place,” Nurse said of Saturday’s game. “And he kept taking it in there.”

But the next step in his maturation is being more consistent in games without Embiid. He averaged 16 points on a combined 28.5% shooting — including making 3 of 16 three-point attempts — in losses to the Heat and Bulls.

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In 25 games with Embiid, Maxey has averaged 26.5 points on 46.9 shooting — including 41.4% from three — along with 6.9 assists and 1.4 turnovers. In six games without him, he has averaged 24.3 points on 41.5% shooting — including 23.9% from three — along with 4.8 assists and 1.8 steals. He’s also shooting 91.2% from the foul line in games Embiid plays compared to 73.0% in games he does not.

“But I also have to score when The Process is here, you know what I’m saying?” Maxey said. “I also have to be aggressive because me being aggressive at the point of attack helps him. So it helps our team be successful.

“So I didn’t think about it too much [this road trip]. I just went out there and tried to play normal, shoot the shots that I normally shoot, get my guys involved, get downhill, spread out some three. I think we did a pretty good job of that.”