Tyrese Maxey overcomes bloody nose from Brandon Miller’s flagrant 2, leads Sixers over Hornets 109-98

Tyrese Maxey and the Philadelphia 76ers earned a much needed 109-98 victory over the Charlotte Hornets last night, following a brutal road-trip that slid them to the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference standings. 

Entering last night, the Sixers were losers of two straight to the Knicks and Bucks and while managing to post a miserable 3-5 record in March. The Hornets proved to be the perfect “get-right” team for the Sixers to face after a miserable stretch of games on the road without Joel Embiid. 

Tyrese Maxey shook off a bloody nose caused by Brandon Miller’s flagrant foul and finished with 30 points on 8-of-20 shooting (3-9 3PT) to lead the Sixers in the win.

Brandon Miller Ejected after Flagrant 2 on Tyrese Maxey

Brandon Miller EJECTED after flagrant 2 foul on Tyrese Maxey 😳 pic.twitter.com/4OnR1D4pI1

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 17, 2024

😤 (literally) pic.twitter.com/181A2URoRd

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 17, 2024

Following the game, Maxey who just got out of concussion protocol last week, posted the photo below on Instagram and commented on the flagrant foul from Miller saying he knows it wasn’t intentional and that he’s a solider.

“I got hit and I was like, ‘Oh no! Let me get up!’ Like I don’t want to go do that again, but I’m alright. I tell everybody I’m a soldier so it is what it is. I’m taking UFC lessons, though...Also, I want to say, I know Brandon Miller didn’t mean to do that on purpose,” Maxey added. “The jokes I’m making are not personal.” [SixersWire]

 Kelly Oubre Jr. chipped in 22 points and the 76ers, who appeared to be letting another game slip away late in the 4th quarter, handled the Hornets surge to walk away with the win.

Buddy Hield scored 14 points, Paul Reed added 11, and Cam Payne scored 10 points off the bench to join Maxey and Oubre as the only players last night to score in double-digits against the Hornets.

The Sixers have struggled without Joel Embiid. They have posted a miserable 8-13 record since late January and at one point, fell the whole way down the standings to the No. 8 seed.

Following last night’s win, they hold a half-game advantage over the Miami Heat, who they’ll face tomorrow night, and sit in the 7th seed with just 15 games left in the regular season. 

Joel Embiid Injury Update

Embiid, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Saturday, has missed 21 games since tearing the meniscus against Golden State on January 30th. According to reports, Embiid remains on track to rejoin the Sixers for the final week of the regular season, hoping to “ramp-up” before the playoffs.

BIRTHDAY BUCKETS. 🪣 pic.twitter.com/NTWxDGZW4B

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 17, 2024

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