Tyrese Maxey, new Sixers alpha, wills them to a Game 5 win in New York despite Joel Embiid’s struggles

NEW YORK — And just like that, The Process ended.

Reigning MVP Joel Embiid diminishes in the postseason. He was 3-6 in elimination games, and on his way to being 3-7 before Tyrese Maxey finally won one for him. Maxey dropped a playoff career-high 46 points on the New York Knicks, including a 34-foot three-pointer near the end of regulation that forced overtime in the 112-106 Game 5 win.

It’s his team now. Maxey’s the lead dog.

Embiid coopted “The Process” as his own nickname, but he hasn’t done much with it in a decade. Let Maxey Mania commence.

Embiid can play his part, but if the Sixers ever expect to win a title, it has to come through their 23-year-old combo guard. In the biggest game of the year, at Madison Square Garden, Maxey channeled vintage eight-points-in-nine-seconds Reggie Miller and scored nine points in the last 92 seconds, including a four-point play.

He didn’t mimic Miller’s choke gesture, but he did curse out the star-studded courtside fans.

“I was saying some things my grandma probably wouldn’t like,” Maxey said.

Afterward, Maxey, always affable, was severe. He’d missed free throws late and turned the ball over Tuesday, and he’d played poorly late in the Game 4 loss on Sunday.

“I refused to let that happen again,” Maxey said. The shot thought? “Just find a way to survive.”

He refused to enjoy the moment.

“I’m just trying to flush this game. We’ve got to do this again in 48 hours,” he said.

If those comments are refreshingly professional, it’s because they didn’t come from Embiid. The Sixers finally have a true leader: a workaholic gym rat who’s always in shape and who never makes excuses.

The Anti-Embiid.

» READ MORE: Tyrese Maxey saves Sixers’ season with miracle performance in 112-106 Game 5 overtime win

Maxey, of course, had help.

Tobias Harris, nearing the end of his exorbitant contract, avoided a sour swan song and scored 19.

Embiid attended, too, but inefficiently: 19 points on 7-for-19 shooting with a playoff career-high nine turnovers (9!), though he did play big in the final moments.

He stonewalled Josh Hart at the rim and began a fast break that gave the Sixers a one-point lead, then stole the ball from Jalen Brunson and converted an and-one three-point play at the other end to make it 106-102. That pretty much did it.

Because the Sixers played hard. Harder than the Knicks. Finally. They even finally won the offensive rebounding battle, 12-6.

Embiid, suffering from a knee injury, Bell’s palsy, and a migraine, was sluggish all night. Maybe he’ll feel better by Game 6.

Will any of it matter? Will The Process advance?

Probably not. History is a vicious mistress. The Sixers are 0-17 when trailing 3-1 in a best-of-seven series. Slightly more than 7% of teams that open series 0-2 win four of the next five.

And this team doesn’t exactly have championship DNA.

» READ MORE: Daryl Morey blew it when he traded Patrick Beverley and Marcus Morris from the Sixers

Since The Process began — the deconstruction of a franchise begun by Sam Hinkie and continued by three other top dogs, most recently Daryl Morey — the Sixers haven’t advanced past the second round.

They are down 3-2 to a Knicks team on which three of its starters — Isaiah Hartenstein, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo — had 10 playoff starts among them before this series.

Of his turnovers, Embiid’s seventh gave the Knicks a fast-break bucket and an 80-77 lead with 6:15 to play. It was the kind of play that deflates this franchise. This time, the Sixers did not wilt. Maybe it was Maxey. Maybe the coach.

Nick Nurse replaced Doc Rivers who replaced Brett Brown because neither could get Embiid and the Sixers past the second round of the playoffs. The Sixers fell from the No. 4 seed into the play-in pool after Embiid underwent knee surgery in February, but the Knicks have been without Julius Randle for weeks. They earned the No. 2 seed; Embiid returned near the end of the season and the Sixers settled for No. 7.

They remained exquisitely undermanned.

Morey banked on fan favorite and inexplicable media darling Paul Reed developing into a dependable backup, but for the second game in a row Nurse could not afford to have Reed on the court in the second half. When Embiid rested for one minute in the fourth quarter to ice his knee, the Sixers went with three forwards. The absence of De’Anthony Melton continued to resonate; 38-year-old pickup Kyle Lowry, forced to start, did little more than foul the Knicks and lobby referees.

Maxey took another step toward the center of the Sixers’ stage. Harris rallied. Even Kelly Oubre Jr. showed up, with 14 points.

Can they do it two more times? Can Maxey carry them to three straight wins? Probably not.

But at least now we know who the lead dog is.