King of the fourth: Tyrese Maxey upgraded his NBA status with clutch playoff performance

Regardless of how the 76ers end their first-round series with the New York Knicks, it has catapulted Tyrese Maxey’s NBA status to a new level.

During the regular season, the guard was recognized as one of the league’s top young players. The fourth-year veteran became a first-time All-Star and the NBA’s Most Improved Player this season. His level of play and profile has been elevated even more in this postseason.

Maxey takes averages of 32.4 points, 7.2 assists, and 5.2 rebounds into Game 6 Thursday against the Knicks at the Wells Fargo Center. His signature moment came when he bought the Sixers back from six points down with 28.4 seconds left in Game 5. He scored Philly’s final seven points to force overtime in the 112-106 victory.

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Cam Payne, who played alongside future Hall of Fame guards Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook, was asked if Maxey’s effort was the best postseason performance he’s been a part of.

“Ohhhh. That’s number one,” Payne said Thursday morning after shootaround. ”That’s number one in my eyes. I’ve had some happen to me. But this one right here was one of the biggest ones, especially being on the road, too, having the [guts] to take the shot and make the shot. That’s big time. That’s our All-Star, though. So we’re riding him, and hopefully he can do it again tonight.”

Maxey finished the game with a career playoff-high 46 points, with 31 coming after intermission. He did most of his damage in the fourth quarter, scoring 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting while going 4-for-4 on three-pointers.

Dominating the fourth quarter has mostly been the norm for him in this series. Maxey is averaging 10.0 points on 61.3 % shooting while making 66.7% of his three-pointers in the fourth quarter against New York.

But Tuesday’s late-game exploits have been a hot topic over the last 48 hours. It’s also the reason the Sixers extended the series to six games.

“Tyrese being Tyrese, man,” Paul Reed said. “Great players make great plays.”

Said Kelly Oubre Jr.: “I saw confidence. A will to not lose. I saw a big-time player make a big-time shot and I would expect nothing less.”

The vibe inside the 76ers practice facility was loose at the conclusion of Thursday morning’s shootaround.

Coach Nick Nurse chatted with two assistants in the middle of the court. Meanwhile, players were in a good mood while working on three-point shots as music blared from the speakers nine hours before a must-win Game 6 against the Knicks.

“Got to be, got to be loose,” Payne said of the vibe. “We can’t be tight. We’ve got a game tonight. Must win. I feel like the looser you are, the better chances you have to win. The more tight, you might not make the shots. You may be worried about your shots. But Coach got a very loose mentality. Come out here and play your game. Do what you are going to do. Take your shots that you normally take.”

» READ MORE: As Game 6 looms, Sixers coach Nick Nurse stresses importance of playing a full ‘48 minutes’ vs. Knicks

Payne was on the far court, doing shooting drills with Reed. Afterward, the always jovial player seemingly bounced over to speak to the media, displaying the trademark energy that enabled him to provide a spark off the bench in Games 3.

Payne played just 2 minutes, 34 seconds in Game 1 and didn’t see action in Game 2. But when his number was called upon to start the second quarter of Game 3, Payne made his first three shots and blocked a shot while scoring eight of his 11 points in the quarter. He ended up making 4 of 7 shots — including 3 of 4 three-pointers — to go with three assists in 15:40.

“For me, I’m going to keep my energy the same, winning or losing,” Payne said. “So sometimes that affects other people. Some people come in all sad and stuff, don’t know if you’re going to win. You might not get the right energy you need. You might not get the right shot you want to make because you are thinking about what if we lose. Nah, we’ve got the mentality that we’re coming in to win tonight.”