Sixers Notes: Maxey, Embiid, Nurse, Harris

After winning the NBA's Most Improved Player award for 2023/24 last week, Tyrese Maxey capped a memorable April with the biggest game of his four-year NBA career on Tuesday. The star guard scored 46 points in 52 minutes, including seven in the final 30 seconds of regulation to force the game into overtime, leading the Sixers to a Game 5 victory that kept their season alive.

"What was going through my mind was trying to survive," Maxey said, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. "Our season is on the line. I trust my work. I trust what I've done all my life, and I just tried to get to a spot, raise up and knock that shot down."

The Sixers' other star, Joel Embiid, had a triple-double in Tuesday's victory, racking up 19 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists. But Embiid, who is dealing with a sore knee, a case of Bell's palsy, and a migraine that forced him to miss Tuesday morning's shootaround, clearly wasn't operating at full strength and made just 7-of-19 shots from the field. Last season's MVP said after the game that he appreciated Maxey coming through when the club needed him most.

"Tonight, obviously based on the circumstances and knowing what was needed, based on what was happening and me not being able to be myself, he just had to do it," Embiid said, per Bontemps. "And he did it. That's why he is such an amazing basketball player."

Here's more on the Sixers, who now trail the Knicks 3-2 in their first-round series:

• Embiid has become public enemy number one among Knicks fans during the first round, especially following a physical Game 3 performance in which he was accused of committing a "dirty" foul on opposing center Mitchell Robinson. However, the Sixers star had nothing but praise for the New York faithful after being on the receiving end of their vitriol in Game 5, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. "It's not hostile. I love New York. New York is my favorite city in the world. I have a place here for the past five years. I just love New York," Embiid said. "And then the (Knicks) fans, when you play against a team they're always gonna pick that guy. And they seem to have picked me, which is fine. I love it. If I gotta be the punching bag and keep hearing a lot of 'F Embiid,' that's ok. I love it."
• Nick Nurse become the second NBA head coach to suffer an injury during the postseason, though it doesn't sound as if his issue is as serious as Chris Finch's patellar tendon tear, which required surgery. As Ian Begley of SNY.tv tweets, Nurse injured a finger during Tuesday's game when he slammed his hand in frustration over a call. It's unclear if he broke or sprained the finger, but the 76ers' coach couldn't grip a marker to draw up plays during the second half, Begley adds.
• Prior to Tuesday's game, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer suggested that it might be a good idea to bring struggling forward Tobias Harris off the bench after he scored no more than 10 points in any of the series' first four games. However, Nurse stuck with Harris in the starting five and the veteran rewarded his faith in Game 5, Pompey notes, scoring 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Harris was a +11 in 49 minutes of action. "Coach drew up some opportunities for me early on to get me going," Harris said. "And I think that was just big for myself and overall, and just getting into a rhythm and getting into a flow out there."