Tyrese Maxey and Victor Wembanyama are two of the biggest young talents in the NBA. In the game between the Sixers and the Spurs, which Philadelphia won 126-133 in the second overtime, they demonstrated it again. The 23-year-old guard scored 52 points in his team's victory, while Wemby scored 33 points and grabbed 18 rebounds.
Maxey took advantage of Embiid's absence, who rested to take care of his knee, which prevented him from fighting for the MVP this season. Without the presence of the Cameroonian, the Dallas-born point guard shot 41 shots at the basket, of which he scored 19, to score 52 points, his best score in the NBA.
On the other side of the court was the Frenchman, who once again put up stratospheric numbers that place him at the level of Shaquille O'Neal. The Spurs player, who had 33 points, 18 rebounds, six assists, seven blocks and five triples, has achieved his fourth game of the season with more than 30 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks, equaling the rookie campaign of Shaq and surpassing that of Tim Duncan, who achieved it three times. David Robinson's seven crashes during his first year are far away.
The Spurs, despite having nothing at stake, were close to beating the Sixers. Gregg Popovich's team was up ten points in the fourth quarter. Even with two seconds left, they led by two, but Maxey was in charge of taking the game to the first overtime, with 18 points in the last period.
In addition, the 23-year-old point guard entered the history books of his franchise, as he is, after Wilt Chamberlain, Allen Iverson and Joel Embiid, the fourth Sixers player to achieve three games of more than 50 points during a campaign. Likewise, those from Pennsylvania are the first team in history to have two players with more than half a hundred points in three different games in the same season.
The victory of the Sixers, who have five consecutive wins, three of them with Embiid, are seventh, one game behind the Pacers, sixth, and two behind the Cavaliers, fifth. There are four games left until the regular season ends, but Philadelphia, with Embiid and Maxey, has returned to the level from the beginning of the campaign and will try to avoid the always dangerous play-in.
