On May 1, Beijing time, the 76ers defeated the Knicks 112-106 on the road, chasing the big score to 2-3, the series is still very suspenseful, the next game, the 76ers are fighting at home, if the big score is chased to 3-3, who can reach the Eastern Conference semifinals in the end is still unknown. The 76ers were on the verge of elimination, trailing by 6 points less than 30 seconds in the final game, Maxey scored 3+1 and hit a long-range three-pointer to score 7 points in 17 seconds to help the 76ers drag the game into overtime. The 76ers came out on top in overtime to win a game that could be a turning point in the series.
The 76ers' Embiid performance was disappointing, he scored 19 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists on 7-of-19 shooting, which looked at the statistics well, but the emperor also had 9 turnovers and almost got an embarrassing quadruple-double. Embiid nearly caused the team to lose, and if it weren't for Maxey's second-half rampage, the 76ers' season would have ended. Maxey played nearly 52 minutes, only rested for 1 minute, and scored 46 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists on 17-of-30 shooting, and 7-of-12 three-pointers, which was also the best individual performance in this year's playoffs, and even surpassed Brother Bush and Jokic.
With this fight, the 24-year-old Maxey basically locked in a five-year contract with a maximum salary of more than $200 million, he is just entering his prime, and the 76ers will definitely not let him go. Maxey made a breakthrough in the 23-24 season, he averaged 25.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1 steal per game in the regular season, and his personal performance was not much worse than Edwards, but Huazi's playing was more enjoyable, so he gained more attention. In the playoffs, Maxey's performance went further, averaging 32.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game, shooting 50% from the field, more than 40% from three-point range, and nearly 88% from the free throw line.
Maxey is the 21st pick in the first round in 2020, has grown steadily every year since joining the 76ers, and is now the league's top scorer, and won the Most Improved Player award in the 23-24 season, his contract is about to expire, and he is expected to sign a five-year, $200 million maximum salary contract with the 76ers, and the 76ers will use Maxey and Embiid as the core of the team in the future, and if a third star can be brought in to replace Harris, the 76ers will also enter the championship ranks.
It is worth mentioning that Maxey also set a record for the 76ers in the past 23 years, according to statistics, in the past 23 years, the 76ers have not yet had a player who can score at least 45 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in a single game in the playoffs, the last one to do it was Allen Ackerson, who faced the Lakers in the 2001 Finals, cut 48 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, and led the team to defeat the OK combination, but the championship that year still belonged to the Lakers. Maxey is comparable to Iverson, which is also a high achievement, and the 76ers have no shortage of talented All-Stars, such as Harden, Simmons, Iguodala and other stars who have played in Philadelphia, but none of them have scored 45+5+5 in a single game in the playoffs.
Maxi and Iverson are quite similar, both are not tall, Maxi is only 1.88 meters, and they are both very strong in shooting, but Maxi is far less fast than Iverson, which is also the biggest difference. If Maxey can continue to grow, the 76ers will have earned it completely, using the No. 21 pick in the first round to acquire a top star in the league.