Tyrese Maxey Scores 38 as 76ers Beat Hornets

Tyrese Maxey went to the line with 1:22 left, hit both free throws, and the Philadelphia 76ers never trailed again. Maxey finished with 38 points as Philly rallied past the Charlotte Hornets 109-104 on Saturday night at Spectrum Center, and they did it with LeBron James and Joel Embiid both resting, per the AP recap.

That matters. The Sixers move to 6-1, and a night after an intense 98-93 NBA Cup win over the Knicks, they showed they can still close out a road game without their two biggest names. Charlotte falls to 3-4.

Maxey Carried the Load

With James and Embiid in street clothes, Maxey took over. He shot 13 for 23 from the field, 4 for 9 from three and 8 for 9 at the line in 38 minutes, and he was a plus-14 on a night when Philadelphia needed every one of those buckets.

He had help off the bench. Anfernee Simons scored 19 points with five threes, and two of his buckets in crunch time helped the Sixers chip back into it. Jaylen Brown, a game-time decision, started and added 16.

Charlotte Had It, Then Lost It

The Hornets looked like they had this one with about five minutes left. Brandon Miller blocked a V.J. Edgecombe layup and then fed Moussa Diabate for a pick-and-roll dunk on the other end to make it 97-90, and the sellout crowd of 19,533 was loud.

Philadelphia answered. After Maxey's go-ahead free throws, Edgecombe buried a three from the left wing for a 105-101 lead. Charlotte's Sion James then missed an uncontested layup with 24 seconds left, Maxey hit two more free throws, and Brown iced it at the line with 5.2 seconds to go.

Grayson Allen was the story for Charlotte, scoring 27 points off the bench on 7-of-10 shooting from three. Miller added 24 with five threes. The Hornets were on the second night of a back-to-back and are still without Coby White (calf) and Kon Knueppel (hamstring).

The Numbers That Swung It

• Philadelphia shot 40% from three (14 for 35), which covered for a rough 15-of-23 night at the foul line.

• The Sixers forced 11 steals to Charlotte's four.

• Maxey's 38 came on 23 shots, so this was volume and efficiency at the same time.

Bulls Up Next

The 76ers host the Chicago Bulls on Monday night, and Charlotte hosts the Detroit Pistons the same night. The big question for Philly is whether James and Embiid are back after the rest night.

My Smacktok lean: lean higher on Maxey's points any night James and Embiid sit. He played 38 minutes and took 23 shots on Saturday, and that kind of usage is exactly what you want behind a pick.