The Philadelphia 76ers(3-12) have battled injuries all season long, and on Friday night against the Brooklyn Nets(6-10), they were without Joel Embiid(left knee management) and Paul George(knee), but on this night, the starting backcourt stepped up.
Rookie Jared McCain scored 30 points, and Tyrese Maxey added 26 as the 76ers defeated the Nets 113-98 at Wells Fargo Center in NBA Cup Group Play.
McCain and Maxey combined to score 56 points on 22-of-37 shooting and 9-of-17 from beyond the arc.
Philadelphia led 79-77 at the end of the third quarter, and Maxey(14) and McCain(9) scored 25 of the team’s 34 points in the fourth; the 76ers outscored the Nets 34-22 in the final stanza.
“Well, I think obviously, he(McCain) continues his torrid start here, and Tyrese [Maxey] again looked a lot more like himself for sure,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. “Both of those guys were, you know, especially when we really needed it, were outstanding.”
McCain scored 21 points in the second half against the Nets, had his second 30-point game of the season, and matched his career high with six three-pointers; Maxey had high praise for the young rookie.
“He’s fearless,” Maxey said of McCain. “When you’re fearless like that when you have that type of confidence, it’s a good feeling. We need that. We need him to be that guy for the duration of the season. There’s going to be different times when you have to play different roles, with [Joel Embiid] in there, with [Paul George] in there, with me in there. He has to be this guy who is fearless, who can make shots, who can play defense, and play a lot of different roles.”
Maxey, who played his second game with the 76ers after missing six games with a hamstring injury, scored 16 of his 26 points in the second half, and McCain says it’s easy playing next to the All-Star guard.
“It’s pretty easy to play with him,” McCain said. “There’s so much attention he draws. Any time he has the ball I feel like I’m open because they always are inching towards him when he’s about to drive. I’m just ready. I’m ready for anything that he passes my way, and vice versa. I think it’s easy to play, like he said, with both ball handlers out there. So, I just try to play off this great guy.”
Maxey says both he and McCain have unlimited energy.
“He(McCain) doesn’t get tired because he isn’t going over and over again,” Maxey explained. “I’m not going to get tired from going over and over and over again. You can kind of catch your breath a little bit. I know he’s going to make the right play. I know I’m going to try to make the right play, as well. When you have guys flying around and making shots and playing extremely hard on defense and offense as well.”
Obviously, when you’re 3-12, there are few bright spots, but McCain has been a bright spot, and with Maxey back, this backcourt could be very prolific moving forward.
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