Sixers vs. Lakers takeaways: Tyrese Maxey’s lack of respect, Joel Embiid’s struggles, and more from loss to Lakers

Tyrese Maxey needs to keep his cool, but the 76ers point guard’s frustration is justified.

His team’s three-guard lineup of VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes, and Jared McCain, when he’s on the sideline, is showing improvement.

Yet, the Sixers must get more out of the center position.

Those things stood out in the Sixers’ 112-108 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Maxey had another dominant performance, finishing with 28 points while making 5 of 8 three-pointers. His last three pulled the Sixers (13-10) within two points (110-108) with 7.6 seconds left.

But Luka Dončić responded with a pair of foul shots before LeBron James stole the inbounds pass on the Sixers’ final possession as the Lakers (17-6) escaped with the four-point victory.

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It was Los Angeles’ first victory in Philadelphia since Dec. 7, 2017.

Dončić had game highs of 31 points and 11 assists, while James added 29 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. The four-time MVP scored 12 of his points on 5-for-6 shooting in the fourth quarter.

In addition to scoring at least 28 points for the 14th time, Maxey finished with seven rebounds and nine assists.

But you wouldn’t know he is having an All-NBA-caliber season based on the lack of calls he receives from officials. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder routinely gets hammered on his way to the basket. Yet, fouls are rarely called.

Coach Nick Nurse is surprised by the lack of calls Maxey receives at this stage of his career.

“I think as much as he’s getting held and pushed and grabbed, and all that stuff, you think there be some more,” Nurse said. “As much as he drove it down the lane, you think there be some more. But the surprising ones are when [the Lakers] were trying to foul on purpose, but then they let those go.”

There were a couple of others in transition, where the Lakers were trying to stop Maxey in transition without committing a take foul.

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“And [they] whacked him upside the head,” Nurse said, “and he’s got to try to play through it.”

The frustration that comes with that came to a boiling point on Sunday.

No foul was called when guard Austin Reaves hacked Maxey on the arm as the Sixer blew by him on the way to the basket. Jaxson Hayes blocked his driving finger roll with 2:53 left in the first quarter.

A heated Maxey had to be separated from an official after he expressed his disappointment over the no-call. That led to his being called for a technical.

He downplayed the incident when asked about his frustration following the game.

“Not frustrated at all,” he said. “I laughed.”

You got a technical foul for laughing?

“Nah, I’m just saying, I’m happy. I’m smiling,” Maxey said. “It happens, sometimes.”

Despite trying to downplay it, Maxey’s frustration was visible. And his actions were out of character for the fun-loving Sixer. But they were understandable considering the frequency with which it happens.

And the no-calls didn’t stop, as Reaves got away with grabbing Maxey’s arm or hand several times afterward.

“You know, referees are human,” he said. “Sometimes, they call it. Sometimes, they don’t. But you got to keep playing through all those calls, man.

“I ain’t tripping off that. I think the referees do a great job.”

There was a time earlier in the season that the non-Maxey minutes were tough to watch. But they’ve gotten better as McCain has regained his rhythm and Edgecombe has healed.

On Sunday, the Sixers had success with their three-guard lineup of McCain, Edgecombe, and Grimes, with the standout on the bench for the first 5:45 of the second quarter.

With those three guards leading the way, the Sixers outscored the Lakers, 16-8, before Maxey re-entered. Edgecombe scored five of those points, while McCain had seven.

The Sixers went to the same three-guard lineup at the start of the fourth quarter. But it was just for a limited time as Maxey checked back into the game with 8:35 remaining.

On paper, the Sixers had the advantage at the center position with 2023 MVP and seven-time All-Star Joel Embiid starting and two-time All-Star Andre Drummond as his backup. They faced a Lakers squad that started Deandre Ayton and had Hayes coming off the bench.

However, Embiid struggled to make shots. Drummond did the same in the first half. Defensively, they both had a tough time defending Ayton.

Embiid finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, and two assists. However, he missed 17 of his 21 shots, including all six of his three-pointers. Most of Embiid’s points came at the foul line, where he went 8-for-8.

Embiid loved the looks he got.

“Every shot felt like it was right there,” said Embiid, who has missed 14 of the Sixers’ 23 games. “I think it all comes down to just getting back into rhythm, playing every day, and it’s hard being in and out. But I got to do it, I think every single day.

“I like what I got tonight. I just happened to miss them. Maybe next time it’s going to go in.”

Drummond finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds. He made five of 11 baskets, but he scored only two points on 1-for-4 shooting before intermission.

Meanwhile, Ayton had 14 points on 7-for-7 shooting to go with 12 rebounds. Hayes put up three points and five rebounds in 16 minutes.

The Sixers’ big men must play better for the Sixers to have any chance of beating a solid team.