The Philadelphia 76ers suffered multiple losses Saturday night as they traveled down south to Atlanta for a matchup against the Hawks. In addition to losing the game by a final score of 125-116, Tyrese Maxey, who led the team with 31 points, exited the game in the final seconds after suffering a hand injury.
Coming into the game, the sixth-seed Sixers led the tenth-seed Hawks by just 2.5 games, and the latter had won five straight games while the former had lost six of their last 10.
Without Joel Embiid, Paul George and VJ Edgecombe, Tyrese Maxey handled the bulk of the scoring load — not an unusual occurrence — while Kelly Oubre and Quentin Grimes both managed double-digit scoring efforts in the first half.
Despite being shorthanded, the Sixers worked their way to a seven-point lead at the half, scoring an impressive 73 points, but the team was significantly less efficient in the third and fourth quarters, and the story of the night quickly shifted from the loss of the game to the loss of Tyrese Maxey.
Maxey collided with Adem Bona while going for a loose ball and immediately hit the floor, holding his right hand and writhing on the court in pain before his eventual exit.
During his postgame media availability, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse stated that Maxey would undergo X-rays on his hand and that an update would be provided when available. Maxey was later seen eating in the locker room with no noticeable wrap or restriction on his hand, according to The Athletic’s Tony Jones.
The loss is problematic for the Sixers, but a prolonged injury to Tyrese Maxey would be catastrophic, effectively ending any meaningful season, depending on the recovery timeline.
Philadelphia next heads to Cleveland for a matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the frontend of yet another back-to-back. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on March 9.
Unless otherwise stated, all stats included in this article are via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass, Basketball Reference or Team Rankings. All salary information via Spotrac.
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