Tyrese Maxey stats: 76ers guard rewrites NBA record books after career-high 52-point performance

Tyrese Maxey has put on yet another showstopping performance for the Philadelphia 76ers, scoring a career-high 52 points as his team outlasted the San Antonio Spurs in a double-overtime thriller.

Maxey, the presumptive Most Improved Player of the Year award favourite, stepped up massively on the second night of a back-to-back, outduelling rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama as the 76ers won their fifth game in a row.

Without the services of Joel Embiid, Maxey scored 52 on 46 percent shooting, as well as dishing seven assists, grabbing five rebounds and recording two steals, to help claim the eventual seven-point win.

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Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid break NBA scoring record

Joel Embiid Tyrese Maxey Philadelphia 76ers Sixers 103123

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Not only did Maxey’s big night aid his team to a key win, but it also saw he and reigning MVP Joel Embiid officially enter the history books, as they became the first pair of teammates to each have three 50-point games in a single season.

Maxey’s first 50-piece came in mid-December of 2023, in a win over Indiana, the second was the opening game of February when he scored 51 in a win over Utah, with his career best efforts against San Antonio rounding it out.

For Embiid, he racked up his 50-balls in wins against Washington, Minnesota, and a career-high 70 points, ironically also against San Antonio.

As well as this feat, Maxey also joined Embiid, Allen Iverson, and Wilt Chamberlain as the only 76ers to cross the 50-point mark three times in a season, entering rarefied air that he could hardly believe he was in.

“For my little self to be mentioned with those guys, hey, I’m happy, blessed,” Maxey said after the game.

“I didn’t want to let us lose, I just wanted to do whatever I could, exert all my energy.

“I could live with the result after that.

“No matter how tired, no matter how sore, I just wanted to go out there and try to help us win.”

The 76ers win went a long way in their pursuit of the sixth-seed or higher, with the goal of avoiding the Play-In tournament.

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Following Monday’s game, the 76ers sit in the seventh seed, one game behind sixth-seed Indiana, and only 2.5 games behind the three-seed Orlando Magic.

With just three games remaining, against the Pistons, the Magic, and the Nets, they would need things to fall in their favour to climb that high, but if Maxey can continue to produce at this level, combined with the efforts of Embiid, a deep playoff run could be in Philadelphia’s future.

Tyrese Maxey 50-point games – 2023-24 season