BOSTON -- Tyrese Maxey found different ways to contribute in Tuesday's 113-97 Game 5 win for the Philadelphia 76ers as they staved off elimination against the Boston Celtics. He found a rhythm with his offense as he had 25 points on 10-for-18 shooting along with 10 rebounds and five assists in the performance.
If there was one standout number for coach Nick Nurse, it was the rebounding number. The 2-time All-Star led the Sixers in rebounding on the night and helped Philadelphia keep things close with the Celtics in the rebounding department as Boston won that battle 49-47 after such a big advantage in that area in the previous four games.
"I mean, he was obviously very good," Nurse said after the win. "I'm super happy about the 10 rebounds, right? I think he came flying a lot for those. Obviously, we still had our share of issues there, but it wasn't nearly as bad, or nearly as devastating on the back end of it. That's probably the best thing, but he did a really good job."
After the Sixers got beat on the glass 51-30 in the Game 4 loss, they were able to bounce back in a big way led by Maxey who was sick of watching Boston grab a bunch of rebounds to extend possessions.
"I'm just tired," Maxey explained. "I'm just tired of giving up rebounds. You want me to be completely honest with you, I'm just tired of it. I'm just tired of giving up rebounds, man. It’s not a good feeling. We play really good defense a lot of these times and we giving up these rebounds."
Even on Tuesday night, the Celtics still grabbed a ton of offensive rebounds as 15 of their 49 rebounds came on the offensive glass. In the fourth quarter in which the Sixers held them to just 11 points on 3-for-22 shooting, Boston still grabbed eight offensive rebounds.
"Even today, it was a couple times like, man, it's just like, we’re playing so hard defensively," Maxey added. "Like, we gotta reward ourselves, man. We gotta reward ourselves because, we get a defensive rebound, now we can go play in space. Guys can get little more freedom and a little bit more leeway, go out there and maybe shoot some pull-up 3s and get downhill and score, and that's my biggest thing. I just want us to reward ourselves for putting a lot of effort on the defensive end. So just go ahead and reward yourself. Get the rebound. Let's go play offense."
In order for the Sixers to keep things moving and earn another win on Thursday to have a chance at a Game 7 back in Boston, they will need to follow Maxey's lead and attack the glass with reckless abandon out on the floor.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Sixers single out specific area of Tyrese Maxey's Game 5 performance