The 76ers got a scare at home from the Kings last night, but they erased a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit and pulled out the 113-111 win thanks to Tyrese Maxey’s go-ahead layup with 1.3 seconds to go.
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That bucket gave Maxey 40 points on the night, the fifth time he’s accomplished that this season. He was super efficient, racking up those 40 points on just 18 shots from the floor and a nearly perfect 12-13 mark from the free throw line, but it was that one charity stripe miss that made for some interesting discussion after the game.
Maxey’s game-winning layup was actually an and-1, and with so little time left on the clock and the Kings having no timeouts, he decided to miss it. He would go on to force a full-court heave for the win rather than make it and give Sacramento a chance to throw a long inbound and possibly get a better look to tie.
Asked about it after the game, Maxey said that not all of his teammates were on the same page about his decision to miss on purpose.
“I asked [Joel Embiid], I said, ‘Should I miss it?’ He said no, Paul [George] said yes, so I was kinda in-between. But then I was like, ‘You know what, I’m just gonna miss it.’ It worked out. [Embiid] said, ‘Don’t ever do that again,'” he explained.
What were Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid talking about before Maxey’s last free throw with a 2-point lead in the final seconds against Sacramento?
“I asked him ‘Should I miss it?’ He said no. Paul said yes. So I was kind of in between, but I was like ‘You know what, I’m just going… pic.twitter.com/kOLgbVpsBz
— 97.5 The Fanatic (@975TheFanatic) January 30, 2026
Maxey’s decision did end up working out in the end, but what’s telling here is that he felt the confidence to go with his own gut with the game on the line. He’s clearly the leader of this team, even as the Embiid-aissance has continued this month.
For his part, Embiid also had a monster game. He scored 37 points of his own in 36 minutes, the third game in a row that he’s scored a point per minute or better. The oft-injured big man has had a hell of a month, playing in 13 of Philly’s 16 games and helping them to a 9-4 record in that span.
He’s also been on a real assist kick lately. He dropped eight dimes in this one, the fourth straight time that he’s had five or more. Furthermore, his strong play and continued presence on the court has turned the Sixers from a plucky underdog led by Maxey and rookie VJ Edgecombe, into an actual contender in the East.
Philly is now in sixth place in the conference standings, but they’re only three games out of the 2-seed, so a lot can still happen in the final 35 games of the season. They also, weirdly enough, have a better road record than home record, so if they don’t get homecourt advantage in the playoffs, it’s not necessarily the end of the world.
Saying that the Sixers “have a chance,” Embiid implored the team afterwards to add someone who can help at the trade deadline. If they do, and he can stay healthy this spring and Maxey continues playing at an All-NBA level, nobody is going to want to face the Sixers in the playoffs.
