Tyrese Maxey dedicates 50-point exhibition to teammate Kelly Oubre Jr. in Sixers win vs. Pacers

This weekend Kelly Oubre Jr. was struck by a vehicle in Philadelphia and suffered a broken rib. As he’s expected to miss significant time on the court, his teammates can’t stop thinking about him. This Sunday night, Tyrese Maxey dedicated his career-high performance to the shooting guard after this hit-and-run incident. 

The Sixers, who’ve been almost unstoppable with an 8-1 record so far this 2023/24 season, ended up beating the Pacers 137-126. While Joel Embiid contributed 37 points, Tyrese was 20-for-32 from field goal attempts and added 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks to his stat line.

“Man, this had nothing to do with me,” Maxey told the broadcast following the game. “This is all Kelly Oubre, man. We praying for him. Love my dawg, man. I just met him but I love him. I hope he gets well soon,” the rising star said after his career-high display. The last time he scored over 40 points was almost a year ago against the Raptors.

"Man, this had nothing to do with me. This is all Kelly Oubre, man. We praying for him… Love my dawg. I hope he gets well soon."

– Tyrese Maxey. ❤️🙏

pic.twitter.com/SKEnWDJpiB

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) November 13, 2023

“Joel wanted me to get 50 more than even I did,” Maxey revealed. “When he gave me the ball, he said, ‘You are going to shoot this basketball.’ And that’s why I appreciate my teammates, my coaches and the fans. It was a great night and we got the win, which is what matters most.”

On the other hand, Embiid won 13 rebounds in 33 minutes and is currently leading the 76ers through their best start after nine games since their famous 10-0 over two decades ago.

“We are playing together and trusting each other,” the star center said. “It may not look like we didn’t play defense tonight, but (Indiana) plays so fast its incredible with the pace. So they are going to score a lot, but we just competed. We lowered our guard for a bit, but we had Tyrese to help close it out.”

After the victory, the Philly roster sent Oubre a video of the post-game celebrations inside the locker room to show him some support in this time of need.

“The game today, I’m sure Tyrese was thinking about it and we were all thinking about it,” Joel shared. “We just want him to take his time, recover and know that we have his back. He’s needed because he’s a big part of us. We missed him tonight, but he should take his time.

The Pacers coach Rick Carlisle is convinced that they faced one of the top 3 franchises in the league after losing their victory streak

Indiana lost despite both Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner combined for 47 points. The Pacers had won three matches in a row until they faced the Sixers.

“This is one of the top two or three teams in the entire league and we know that,” said Pacers coach Rick Carlisle. “There are certain things that we can and will do better on Tuesday. We have to look at it, be honest about what they are and make those adjustments.”

“There were stretches where they really got going and we couldn’t shut off the water there,” explained Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse. “But we really got it going in the fourth.”

With this impressive display, Maxey raised his average to 28.6 points as he’s found himself filling in for former teammate James Harden’s shoes. “I had been missing the open threes and I kept telling my uncle that I can’t keep missing them,” he said. “Tonight, they fell.”