Tyrese Maxey drops 39, Sixers show fight but fall to Rockets in OT

Sometimes when (checking notes) Jalen Green gets going, there’s just nothing you can do about it.

The Sixers fell 122-115 in overtime to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night behind a 41-point performance from Jalen Green.

After a slow start, Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 39 points and shot 14-of-34 from the field – 30 of those points coming in the second half. He also finished with nine assists.

Jared McCain had another night from deep. He didn’t make a three and finished with 15 points on 6-of-19 shooting. Guerschon Yabusele finished with 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting.

If things were a little more stable, this could be seen as a well-fought, shorthanded loss, but there’s just no room for that left.

On top of the injured stars, Caleb Martin was ruled out of the pregame due to upper back soreness.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First quarter

• It was a typical start for the Sixers as they opened the game 3-of-10 from the field and missed their first four threes of the game. Inserted into the starting line-up, Andre Drummond got off to a better start compared to what he has shown so far. He grabbed a couple of offensive rebounds and threw a nice jump pass to the corner for a Yabusele three.
• Meanwhile for Houston, it only took half of the quarter for Jalen Green to get into double figures as he had 18 in the opening quarter. The Sixers’ effort level at the start seemed better than Sunday, but Maxey still allowed him to get a wide-open dunk after falling asleep on the baseline.
• Kelly Oubre Jr. was the Sixers’ leading scorer in both points and efficiency in the first. That’s only concerning considering he hasn’t hit a three-pointer since Friday. He had nine in the first on 4-of-8 shooting. The Sixers thought they had cut the lead to eight, but Fred VanVleet hit a half-court layup to make it an 11-point game after the first.

Second Quarter

• Ricky Council IV checked in early in the second and put a little life back into the building after a put-back dunk and an offensive foul drawn on Steven Adams. McCain followed up that rush, chasing Reed Sheppard all the way down after he turned it over to contest the fast break and force a miss. McCain finished that play by circling the paint and scooping up a layup in traffic.

• The Sixers were able to build on that stretch. They held the Rockets from scoring a field goal for three minutes midway through the quarter. Maxey’s shooting quality improved when he got his teammates involved. He found a roaming Yabusele on the wing and KJ Martin on the block a few times and that helped open him up.
• Houston calling a timeout helped them regroup and stop the Sixers’ flow offensively. Even with Maxey’s stretch in the middle, he had a rough night at the rim and had a number of layups blocked. The Sixers entered the half trailing by four.

Third Quarter

• The third quarter struggles continued, at least defensively for the Sixers, as the Rockets opened the half going 4-of-5 from the field and scored on six of their first eight trips down the floor. They really didn’t make any kind of adjustment on Green, who was able to take Maxey off the dribble with relative ease.
• The Sixers were able to get some stops and keep Houston from going on an extended run. Drummond started it by deflecting a pass on the perimeter and creating a fast break for himself. He also continued to struggle very hard on the offensive glass, probably his best effort of the season. It helped that Maxey also came from deep. He made three triples in the third after just one in the first half.
• Just as he did in the first half, Council delivered a big burst of energy when he checked back in. He took a (perhaps ill-advised) step-back three to tie the game up, and a steal that gave the Sixers a layup. throw and the lead on the next possession. It was a short-lived lead, however, as Yabusele went 1-of-4 from the line in the next two possessions. A corner kick from Aaron Holiday made it a six-point Rockets lead to end the third.

Fourth Quarter

• The Sixers made a lot of good plays to start the fourth, but couldn’t put them together to cut the lead. Council had a chase down block and some hard fought offensive rebounds, Maxey had a really tough finish at the rim, but each time Houston had an answer.

• Maxey had his most consistent stretch yet, knocking down three straight baskets, but the Sixers still couldn’t come up with stops on the other end. In addition to having the advantage in terms of length and athleticism, it felt like every loose ball fell into the Rockets’ lap early in the fourth.
• After cutting the lead to four, the Sixers looked pretty dead in the water by turning it over on their next two possessions. After trailing by eight, they battled back with a Council three and Yabu layup to give themselves a chance down three with 21.5 seconds left. Maxey made a hasty three in an attempt to draw a foul, but he succeeded. Tied with 11.1 seconds left, Houston isolated to Sengun on Drummond, but KJ Martin came over and blocked the jump shot attempt, sending this to OT.

Overtime

• It looks like the Sixers offense ran out of gas just to get to this point. After Yabusele hit a corner three to start it, the Sixers went scoreless on their next five possessions, which slowed them down.
• The Sixers return to action after the holiday as their next game is Saturday at Detroit. They take on Tobias Harris and the Pistons at 7 p.m. ET.