Man, oh, man, not only did they need this win, but this performance from Tyrese Maxey as well.
The Sixers snapped their four-game losing streak, blowing out the Minnesota Timberwolves 135-108 Sunday night.
Maxey, in his best game of the month, put up a game-high 39 points going 16-of-28 from the field along with eight assists. VJ Edgecombe was feeling his three-point shot, putting up 24 points with seven boards shooting 8-of-18 from the floor and a career-high six three-pointers made on seven attempts.
Quentin Grimes and Kelly Oubre Jr. dropped 19 and 18, respectively, while Anthony Edwards led the Wolves with 28.
Joel Embiid (shin soreness) missed his fifth straight game while the Timberwolves were down Rudy Gobert (flagrant foul limit suspension) and Naz Reid (shoulder soreness.)
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
First Quarter
- This one started even uglier, with both teams combining to miss the first three free-throw attempts of the night. It took the Sixers nearly three minutes to record their first field goal, throwing two lazy passes that were easily intercepted.
- Oubre’ three did seem get the ball rolling a little bit. Edgecombe had a couple successful drives, getting the Wolves’ depleted bigs in foul trouble in the process. Dominick Barlow made some hustle plays early with a transition and-1 along with an offensive board that led to Maxey’s first field goal of the night.
- Edwards was truly a one-man wrecking crew to start the night, scoring or assisting 13 of Minnesota’s first 19 points of the game. The Sixers’ shooting got hot enough to keep pace though. Grimes had a hot start for the second straight game, making two of his first threes. Maxey and Edgecombe each got another to fall as well as they got out to a nine-point lead after the first.
Second Quarter
- Strong play from Grimes kept the Sixers in a rhythm across quarters. He found Adem Bona wide open at the rim two more times after doing so once late in the first, and got a couple buckets on cuts himself. After Cam Payne set him up for the second, he got a backcourt steal and buried a three, forcing a Minnesota timeout amidst a 13-3 run.
- That timeout did stop the Sixers’ flow. It took the Timberwolves a couple minutes and Edwards returning to the game, but they strung enough baskets together to have Nick Nurse call a timeout of his own. That also seemed to work as Maxey hit a gorgeous layup before Barlow got to the line.
- Minnesota was able to get someone else going as Donte DiVencenzio hit four of his first five shots. While he caught fire from behind the arc, Edwards and Julius Randle had a lot of success driving to the basket. On the other end, Maxey began to have success off the dribble as well, though he smoked both free throws as well after one of his drives was overturned from a charge to a block. Another Edgecombe three proceeded a Maxey and-1, this time converted to keep the Sixers up by 10 at the break.
Third Quarter
- Just like the night before, the Sixers showed some pretty concerning signs coming out of the half. They only scored three points for the first four and a half minutes — just one make from Edgecombe from behind the arc. That was loudly interrupted though when Maxey had his second ferocious dunk of the week, throwing one down with Edwards and Jayden McDaniels in the area.
- That dunk started with a steal Maxey turned into a fast break, and the Sixers followed that up with two more steals, both leading to baskets as well. Maxey in particular seemed to run with that shot in the arm, finding Andre Drummond on an open roll off of one of those steals before a couple more baskets off the dribble.
- He felt less aggressive than his six attempts would suggest, but Edgecombe was deadly from beyond the arc in this one. He sunk five of those, his first game making at least five threes since early January. Maxey wasn’t at that pace but was still putting together a solid night from deep as well, knocking down a pull-up a few possessions later. Maxey put the bow on the third, sinking a floater before the buzzer sounded to put the Sixers up by 16.
Fourth Quarter
- After starting the quarter by finishing off an alley-oop, Edgecombe notched his career-high in three-pointers made in exciting fashion. He drilled a grenade to beat the shotclock despite being unable to shake Ayo Dosunmu.
- A quick 6-0 run made it very clear that there was still plenty of time for the Timberwolves to get back into this. As he had all night, Maxey responded out of the timeout, getting to the rim for a basket before stealing the inbound for another layup T.J. McConnell style. Both he and Oubre kept the Sixers lead in comfortable territory knocking down more threes. Oubre and Edgecombe both tried to posterize poor Joan Beringer. Neither were successful but Oubre’s attempt not only drew a foul, but it was Beringer’s sixth.
- As has become a recurring theme as of late, the last few minutes of these game didn’t matter, but this time it was a positive for the Sixers. This game was absolutely a must-win and credit it to the Sixers, they gave one of their best efforts all season.