PHILADELPHIA (AP) Tyrese Maxi's Sixers fan 'Maxi! Maxi! Maxi!" after every electrifying game -- and he crammed a season's worth into the breakout game of his youthful career. He wielded tornado laps involving Curry-range on 3-pointers and did whatever he wanted all the time, destroying the Raptors.
He also dodged the ball he had autographed as the game's 76ers star - where a fan grabbed it with a two-hander.
Everything worked out for Maxi.
Maxi scored 21 of his playoff career-high 38 points in the third quarter, and he made five 3-pointers to lead Philadelphia to a 131-111 win over Toronto in Game 1 on Saturday night.
"I think the only thing I'm going to remember is we win," Maxi said.
Philly will be remembered for much more.
James Harden had 22 points and 14 assists in his first Eastern Conference playoff game as a Sixer. NBA scoring champion Joel Embiid had 19 points and 15 rebounds. He combined only 11 of 32 shots from the floor.
Tobias Harris scored 26 points for the Sixers, the first time since 2001 to seek a second round finish.
They host Game 2 on Monday.
The opener belonged to Maxi. The 21-year-old Maxi is the youngest Sixer ever to score at least 30 points in a playoff game.
"I saw growth, man," Harden said. “I saw him from being up and down and really not having consistent minutes in the postseason last year and playing a bigger role on a championship-competitive team.”
Maxi was calm and confident in the third as he sent his teammates to the bench with a 32-foot delay for a 20-point lead. The Raptors were stunned and had no answer for them: Maxi made 7 of 8 shots in total, both 3s and all five free throws in 12 minutes.
Wow!
"He just doesn't play with anxiety," said coach Doc Rivers. "There isn't much that bothers him."
Pascal Siakam scored 24 points for the Raptors, who lost rookie Scotty Barnes to an ankle injury on what was already a miserable night. Ozzy Anunobi scored 20 and Fred VanValet made 18.
"Collectively as a team, we don't match intensity," Siakam said.
The Sixers took control in the first 24 minutes and Maxi stepped on the gas in the third against a team that had won the season 3–1 (with Embiid and Harden in the lineup for the final two).
Maxi, a 6-foot-2 bundle of energy in his second season outside Kentucky, led a quick start with a pair of 3 and 10 quick points as the Sixers rolled to a double-digit lead.
The Sixers are Embiid and Harden's team, and the Sixers go as they go. But the maxi gives the 76ers a big 2 3/4 and was more than just a capable replacement for treaded Ben Simmons.
Maxi emerged as a reliable scoring option after the All-Star break - 18.7 points and 48% on 3s - and was on target from the tipoff against Toronto. He scored 6 of 10 shots and his 15 points in the first half were just one shy of matching his playoff high set in Game 6 against Atlanta.
Ah yes. Atlanta. Philly was still on the edge this week in the Hawks series, as the No. 1 seed this season smelled of three home defeats and a second-round exit.
The Raptors entered the third to within 11 but Harden - the deadline takeover of the bold trade made for these moments - buried 3 more a lay.
Harden then got a two-handed bounce pass from midcourt that Maxi caught in a stride for a high-flying, reverse layup. Led by the 18 Sixers, Toronto called a timeout and the Philly crowd went wild.
The Sixers beat the Raptors 29-10 at the fast-break points.
''He is running. You have to reward him,'" Harden said of his top-spin pass. "He was running so fast and we got a chance to take advantage of the change."
The Raptors challenged seriously late in the first half. Embiid was hit with a flag after catching Barnes on a drive. Barnes made 1 of 2 free throws and the Raptors scored a miss and pulled 48-42.
However, Embiid paid the Raptors moments later. He splashed on a bucket and forced VanVallet (who fouled in the fourth) for his third foul. Embiid converted the game by three points for a 57–42 lead.
Maxi took it from there.
"He's been doing this all season long," Embiid said. "It's just one game. We need to do this three more times.
Instructor room
Barnes grabbed his left leg and was in obvious pain after Embiid stepped on his foot in the fourth. He needed help in the locker room. Rookie of the Year top contender Barnes averaged 15.3 points in 74 games. ... F Thaddeus Young left with a sprained left thumb. Coach Nick Nurse said the X-rays of both players were negative.
Weeping
Nurse, who led the Raptors to the 2019 NBA Championship, thought five fouls called out on Embiid weren't enough.
"I don't care if you're 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds, if you hit him on the spot and he runs into you, that's a foul," said the nurse. "I thought he threw three or four elbows in the face. He was called for one. We'll just stand there."
Tip-ins
Raptors: There were just two offensive rebounds in the first half. ... Chris Boucher was also fouled out.
76ers: Rapper Meek Mill and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. sit in front of the court. ...there was no turnover in the first half. The ball was overturned on the first possession of the second half. And made just three in total. Mattis Thayboul scored three points in 19 minutes. He will not be available for Games 3 and 4 in Toronto because he has not been fully vaccinated.