He kept shooting, he kept burying them, and when the dust had settled, Tyrese Maxey had himself a historic performance Tuesday night in the 76ers’ 131-122 win over the Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
He wasn’t alone.
Here’s a look at some total Maxey insanity and some other assorted historical performances from the 76ers’ 49th win of the season:
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HISTORIC FIRST HALF: Maxey made seven 3’s in the first half, which is the most in a half by a 76er as far back as Stathead tracks scoring by half, which is the 1996-97 season. Seth Curry and J.J. Redick each had six 3’s in a half twice, and Jodie Meeks, Robert Covington and Mike Scott did it once each. Did Maxey break the 76ers’ record for 3’s in a half? Probably. At worst he tied it because no 76er made more than seven 3’s in an entire game before the 1996-97 season. Tim Perry, Dana Barros, Trevor Ruffin and Vernon Maxwell made seven. The 76ers official record book does not list a record for most 3’s in a half.
HE DIDN'T STOP THERE: Maxey’s eight total 3’s are 3rd-most in franchise history. Barros made nine against the Suns in 1995 at the Spectrum and Danny Green made nine last year against Miami at the Wells Fargo Center. Maxey tied the most 3’s ever by a 76er in a road game. Isaiah Canaan made eight in overtime at Oklahoma City in 2015 and Green made eight in L.A. vs. the Lakers last year.
BURTON, BARROS AND MAXEY: Maxey shot 8-for-11 from 3, good for 73 percent. That’s 3rd-highest in franchise history with a minimum of 10 attempts. Willie Burton went 8-for-10 against the Bucks at the Spectrum in 1995 for 80 percent, and Barros was 9-for-12 for 75 percent two days later at the Spectrum against the Suns. The 76ers lost both games.
CHASING SOME LEGENDS: With three games left, Maxey is now shooting 42.9 percent from 3 this year on 126-for-294. If the season ended today, that would be 4th-highest in franchise history [minimum 200 attempts] behind only Barros [46.4 percent in 1995], Curry [45.0 percent last year] and Kyle Korver [43.0 percent]. No player in NBA history has shot 30 percent as a rookie and over 42 percent in his second season with a minimum of 100 attempts both years. Last year, Maxey ranked 244th out of 265 NBA players who took at least 100 3’s with his 30.1 shooting. This year, he’s tied for 6th out of 269 players who’ve attempted at least 100 3’s with his 42.9 percent.
NBA
ALREADY ONE OF THE BEST EVER: Even with his 30.1 percent shooting as a rookie, Maxey is up to 39.5 percent from 30-point range for his career. Among 76ers with at least 300 career attempts from 3, that ranks 7th, behind Barros [42.6], Curry [42.6], Korver [40.9], Redick [40.7], Hersey Hawkins [40.6] and Georges Niang [40.3].
SECOND-BEST IN THE NBA: Since Feb. 25 – a 20-game span – Maxey has made 55 of 112 shots from 3-point range for 49.1 percent. During that stretch, he’s been the 2nd-best 3-point shooter in the NBA, behind only Luke Kennard of the Clippers, who is 58-for-116 for 50 percent.
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MORE THAN JUST A SHOOTER: Maxey also had seven assists Tuesday night, which made him the first 76er in 21 years with eight 3’s and seven assists in a game. Allen Iverson had eight 3’s and seven assists in his 52-point game against the Raptors in Game 5 of the 2001 Eastern Conference semifinals in Philly. The only other 76er with eight 3’s and seven assists in a game was Barros, who had nine 3’s and seven assists in that 1995 game against Phoenix.
STEPHON MARBURY IN THE HOUSE: At 21 years, 152 days old, Maxey is the 2nd-youngest player in NBA history to shoot at least 72 percent from 3 on at least 10 attempts. Stephon Marbury was 20 years, 306 days when he shot 8-for-11 for the Timberwolves against the Supersonics in Seattle in December of 1997.
TYRESE MAXEY IS 21: Maxey is on pace to become only the 6th player in NBA history to shoot at least 42.5 percent from 3 before his 22nd birthday [with a minimum of 200 attempts]. The others are Daniel Gibson of the Cavs [44.0 percent in 2008], D.J. Augustin of the Bobcats [43.9 percent in 2009], Steph Curry of the Warriors [43.7 percent in 2010], Rashard Lewis of the SuperSonics [43.2 percent in 2010] and Anfernee Simons of the Trail Blazers [42.6 percent in 2021].
AND SOME BONUS NON-MAXEY STATS: The 76ers’ 23 3’s broke the franchise record of 21, which they did three times [in 2019 vs. the T-Wolves and Bucks and 2020 vs. the Clippers] … Their 57.5 shooting percentage from 3 on 23-for-40 is 7th-highest in franchise history. They’re only the 10th team in NBA history to attempt at least 40 3-pointers in a game and shoot over 57 percent … Joel Embiid had 45 points and 13 rebounds, his 12th game this year with 40 and 10. The only players in NBA history with more such games in a season are Wilt Chamberlain [7 times], Elgin Baylor [3 times], Bob McAdoo [2 times] and Kareem Abdul-Jabaar and Rick Barry once each … Embiid’s 45 points increased his season scoring average from 30.20 to 30.42 and moved him back into the NBA scoring lead, ahead of LeBron James (30.27), who was not scheduled to play Tuesday night … James Harden’s 14 assists give him 163 in 17 games since joining the 76ers. During that span, he’s second in the NBA with 9.8 assists per game behind only Trae Young [10.7] … The 76ers and Pacers both attempted 40 3-pointers, but the 76ers made 23 and the Pacers just 12. This was the first game in NBA history where both teams took 40 or more 3’s and one team shot at least 55 percent and the other team shot 30 percent or worse.