Sixers takeaways: Matching physicality, Tyrese Maxey is hard to guard, and more from the win against Suns

The 76ers need to keep playing a heady brand of basketball.

Tyrese Maxey is unguardable when in his bag of tricks.

And so far, Paul George’s absence hasn’t had a major impact on the outcomes of games.

These things stood out in Saturday’s 109-103 victory over the Phoenix Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center.

With the win, the Sixers improved to 30-22 and evened the two-game season series against the Suns (31-22). They’re also 3-1 in the first four games of their five-game West Coast road trip, which concludes on Monday against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Center.

The Sixers had effective ball movement against the Suns. They also attacked the basket, crashed the boards, and played at a much faster pace than in recent games.

In addition to doing those things, they didn’t back down from Phoenix’s physicality or Dillon Brooks’ antics. Kelly Oubre Jr. got in the face of his former roommate and high school teammate at Findlay Prep (Nevada) after Brooks flopped on a play.

Before that, Joel Embiid and Devin Booker exchanged words at the conclusion of the first half. And there were other heated exchanges.

The Sixers didn’t match the physicality of the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this season. So seeing them fight back and play with an edge against the Suns was a great sign.

“We stayed professional,” Maxey said to the media. “We didn’t let all the rah rah stuff affect us. We got physical back, and that’s good. That happens, and we can take that.”

Maxey said he could anticipate the Suns’ antics. With the Sixers up 16 points in the second quarter, he knew Phoenix would resort to something.

“Any good team or any team that’s playing for something, they’re not going to let you steamroll them. They’re not going to lay down. They are going to go out there and try to put up a fight. And sometimes that’s what has to come with it. You have to get more physical, and you have to sustain that lead. And we did a good job of that.”

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The Sixers had a 50-40 rebounding advantage. They scored 34 points in the paint and held the Suns to 23.9% three-point shooting.

Embiid finished with 33 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and one block. Maxey finished with 29 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and one steal, while Oubre added 18 points, six rebounds, and two steals.

Maxey had a slow start, missing his first three shot attempts. But after that, the two-time All-Star was close to unstoppable.

Unable to keep him in front of them, the Suns’ defenders were helpless. The point guard drained a couple of his three-pointers. He scored on a post-up. And Maxey played through contact on his way to the rim. Fourteen of his points came in the first half.

“We just played fast that group that I was in there with,” Maxey said regarding the first half. “Got rebounds, got stops, and got out and ran, trying to make sure everybody touched the ball, everybody involved, and it was good.”

Maxey missed his first three shots in the second half. But after settling down, the Suns, once again, had a tough time guarding him.

Making 8 of 9 foul shots, the sixth-year player scored 13 of his points in the fourth quarter. His last two with 11.8 seconds remaining gave the Sixers their six-point cushion.

Let’s not get it twisted.

The Sixers are a better team with George on the floor. The nine-time All-Star is a solid facilitator and one of their best defenders. As a result, there was a thought that the team would struggle while he serves a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s Anti-Drug Program.

So far, that hasn’t been the case.

The Sixers are 4-1 in the first five games without the 6-8 forward. Their lone loss was Thursday’s 119-115 setback to the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena.

Different players stepped up to help Embiid and Maxey in each of their victories. On Saturday, it was Trendon Watford in addition to Oubre.

“He’s become a little more important now [what] the roster is,” said Sixers coach Nick Nurse. “If one of those guys gets in foul trouble, he’s got to kind of be another ball handler. I thought he did a good job.

“He’s starting to show a little bit of element of some toughness, kind of standing up to [the Suns with] some of his physicality out there.”

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Watford finished with six points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.

While he didn’t score a lot of points, the reserve point forward displayed a lot of toughness and did a lot of intangible things. Being impactful, Watford played the entire fourth quarter. That’s when he had four points, four rebounds, and two blocks.

“The big thing for us is he can handle the ball,” Maxey said of his close friend. “He’s a connector. We needed that for a long time. Nico [Batum during the 2023-24 season] was probably the last [point forward] we had. But he doesn’t handle the ball as much as TY does. So he does a good job of handling the ball. He can play pick-and-roll. He can post, get a bucket down there in the post. We just got to get him to play some defense, then we will be alright.”