BOSTON — Tyrese Maxey took over when the 76ers needed it most, scoring 12 of his 29 points in the final six minutes Tuesday night as Philadelphia beat the Celtics 111-97 and tied their first-round playoff series at 1-1.
The 25-year-old guard sealed it with consecutive three-pointers from the top of the key late in the fourth quarter. Asked whether he wanted the ball in that stretch, Maxey told Nick Nurse, “Hey, I got it.” Nurse’s response was simple: “He just wanted them.”
Maxey said he could feel the moment turning. “All right, this is my time to close the game out,” he said. “I just had to put the game away.”
The performance came after a rough start to the series for Philadelphia. The 76ers lost Game 1 to Boston 123-91 on Sunday, with Maxey finishing with 21 points, and Tuesday’s win sent what had looked like a lopsided matchup back to Philadelphia tied at a game apiece.
Maxey has carried the 76ers’ offense while Joel Embiid remains sidelined recovering from an appendectomy. He also returned early last month from an injured little finger on his shooting hand, and his scoring has continued to define Philadelphia’s season. He became the league’s fifth-leading scorer during the regular season, then followed that with 31 points and six assists in the play-in tournament win over the Orlando Magic.
This was not the first time Maxey has answered on the postseason stage. He scored 38 points in an opening playoff game in the 2022 playoffs, and two years ago he poured in 46 points against the Knicks to force overtime at Madison Square Garden. On Tuesday, though, the late shot-making mattered more than the numbers. VJ Edgecombe also scored 30 points in Boston, but it was Maxey who ended the night with the ball and the series suddenly even.
Philadelphia now returns home with Games 3 and 4 scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m., and the next two nights will show whether Tuesday was a one-night surge or the moment the series shifted for good.