Tyrese Maxey’s career-high 44 points propels Sixers to 112-90 victory over Toronto Raptors

TORONTO — Tyrese Maxey let it fly from the corners and the wings. He drove to the right side of the basket, then the left. He launched from behind the “A” in Scotiabank Arena that is painted well outside its court’s three-point arc, then tilted his head back to scream as he headed back to the bench for a timeout.

For 27 minutes Friday night, Maxey literally could not miss. Then in the fourth quarter, his shot-making squashed any Raptors’ hopes of making a late push.

Maxey’s career-high 44 points — including a scorching 27-point first half on 10-of-10 shooting — propelled the Sixers to a 112-90 victory over the Toronto Raptors, providing a jolt to his team in desperate need of one after starting the season a disappointing 1-4.

“I just wanted to win so bad, honestly,” Maxey said after the game. “I’m just so serious. I know how good we can be. I know how talented we are, but we’ve got to match our talent with the energy that we play with and defensive tenacity.”

The third-year guard’s offense anchored a Sixers squad playing without All-NBA center Joel Embiid, who rested a sore knee. Coach Doc Rivers primarily deployed small-ball lineups, using P.J. Tucker (five points, five rebounds) and Georges Niang (five points, five rebounds) at center with a 15-minute stretch of Montrezl Harrell (nine points on 4-of-4 shooting, two rebounds, two assists).

But Maxey is quickly becoming a Raptors killer. His point total surpassed his previous career high of 38, set in last season’s Game 1 of the Sixers’ first-round playoff series against Toronto. He scored another 31 points during Wednesday’s 119-109 loss in this building, prompting Raptors coach Nick Nurse to marvel before Friday’s game about Maxey’s speed, shot-making and composure as a 21-year-old.

Joel Embiid ruled out of Sixers’ game against Raptors due to right knee injury recovery

Maxey’s first bucket — an off-balance three-pointer from the right corner with Toronto’s Fred VanVleet in his face — foreshadowed his personal onslaught.

He went 4-of-4 from long range in the game’s first six minutes. He hit a runner at the opening quarter’s buzzer. By halftime, he had made all 10 of his shots from the floor, including all seven from deep. By the final buzzer, he had also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and dished out four assists.

Maxey finally missed a shot about four minutes into the third quarter, when a three-point attempt fell off the rim. But his two free throws and a floater late in the period helped quell the Raptors’ rally to slice what was a 19-point Sixers lead to single digits, at 73-67. Then, Maxey’s driving layup followed by two threes upped the lead back to 99-81 with five minutes to play.

Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting, 10 rebounds, and six assists.

The Sixers next travel to Chicago to face the Bulls Saturday night in the second game of a back-to-back set, before finishing their road trip on Halloween night at Washington.

Thybulle time

After playing a less than seven total minutes in the Sixers’ first five games, Matisse Thybulle got his first real rotation action Friday and finished with six points on 2-of-6 shooting, three rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and one steal in 22 minutes.

With De’Anthony Melton (13 points, six assists, five rebounds) moving into the starting lineup, Thybulle was the Sixers’ first sub about seven minutes into the first quarter. After hesitating when he got the ball for the first time, hit his first two three-point attempts, and totaled one rebound, one assist, and one block his initial nine-minute rotation.

“It always takes a little bit of time to start feeling like yourself again out there,” Thybulle said. “But after the first couple up-and-downs, getting in the mix in a couple defensive possessions, I started to feel like myself. It’s just one game. There’s more to come, and I hope I get more opportunities. I think, with each one, I’ll get more comfortable and be able to hopefully contribute more and more.”

Rivers said Thybulle’s reinsertion into the rotation was to put a strong perimeter defender on the floor, after acknowledging the rotation used in the first five games “wasn’t working for us.”

Danuel House Jr., who had been ahead of Thybulle on the depth chart before Friday, also played 10 minutes and finished with no points and two rebounds. Guard Shake Milton (two points) also played nine minutes in the second half, before the Sixers emptied their bench in the final minutes.

Overall, the Sixers’ bench outscored the Raptors’, 26-17.

Improved defense

After a poor performance in Wednesday’s loss, the Sixers’ defense tightened in Friday’s meeting.

They surrendered 16 fastbreak points, but zero in the first half. They forced 17 turnovers that they parlayed into 25 points. And they limited Toronto to 9-of-39 shooting from three-point range and 38.4% from the field.

Rivers attributed part of the Sixers’ defensive success to that they shot 52.4% from the floor, allowing them to set their defense. The coach added the Sixers plan to play zone after they score, and man-to-man after missed shots.

©2022 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.