Tyrese Maxey took over in overtime, scoring six of his game-high 36 points as the Philadelphia 76ers outlasted the Houston Rockets 128–122 on Thursday night.
Joel Embiid delivered a dominant all-around performance, finishing with 32 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists to record a triple-double for Philadelphia, which evened its home record at 12–12. Kelly Oubre Jr. added 26 points, while Paul George returned to the lineup after missing two games with left knee injury management and chipped in 10 points.
After a tightly contested regulation, the 76ers seized control in the extra session by scoring the first five points. George drilled a 3-pointer, and VJ Edgecombe followed his own miss for a putback to give Philadelphia the early edge it wouldn’t relinquish.
Maxey nearly ended it in regulation, but Kevin Durant came up with a clutch defensive play, blocking Maxey’s driving layup attempt with 13.2 seconds left. Maxey still finished with 10 assists to cap a stellar night.
Philadelphia appeared poised to pull away early in the fourth quarter, opening a 94–88 lead, but went scoreless for more than three minutes. Reed Sheppard’s third 3-pointer of the quarter sparked Houston’s surge and put the Rockets ahead 105–96 with 6:25 remaining. The 76ers responded, tying the game twice down the stretch, the last coming on Maxey’s layup with 40.1 seconds left to force overtime.
Durant led Houston with 36 points, and Amen Thompson added 17 as the Rockets saw their three-game winning streak snapped. Houston was shorthanded, playing without Aaron Holiday (back spasms) and center Steven Adams (left ankle sprain).
Up next:
The Rockets travel to Detroit to face the Pistons on Friday night, while the 76ers return home to host the New York Knicks on Saturday.
