Tyrese Maxey on Thursday scored 37 points and Joel Embiid added 29 to ignite the Philadelphia 76ers in a 109-105 victory against the Miami Heat and boost their NBA playoff chances.
Maxey added 11 assists and nine rebounds, just missing a triple double in 41 minutes on the court as the Sixers improved to 42-35, eighth in the Eastern Conference, but only a game behind the Indiana Pacers in sixth.
The top six in each conference take NBA playoff berths, while teams in positions seven to 10 face play-in games for the last two available spots.
Photo: AP
Maxey had missed the past two games for Philadelphia with a hip injury, but in his first game alongside Embiid in more than two months, the duo were dominating.
“I’m tired,” Maxey said. “Normally when you come back you get to play 32 minutes, but [coach Nick] Nurse asked me and I said: ‘I’m all good. I can play as much as you need me to.’”
Philadelphia, 2-0 since the return of reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Embiid from a knee injury, fell out of the top six while the Cameroonian big man was injured, but hope to climb back into the top six in their final five games.
Miami, led by Terry Rozier’s 22 points, fell to 42-34, seventh in the East.
In the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors stretched their win streak to six games with a 133-110 victory against the Houston Rockets, boosting their lead over the only team who can knock them out of a play-in spot.
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson each scored 29 points to lead the Warriors, who led 65-50 at halftime and rolled in the second half.
The Rockets lost their 13th consecutive meeting with Golden State, a club they have not beaten since February 2020.
At 42-34, Golden State hold the 10th and final West play-in spot, while Houston slid to 38-38, four games behind the Warriors with six games remaining.
Elsewhere on Thursday, it was:
‧ Clippers 102, Nuggets 100
‧ Knicks 120, Kings 109
‧ Mavericks 109, Hawks 95
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