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Philadelphia 76ers star guard Tyrese Maxey engaged in a sideline dispute with a heckler during Philly’s 124-114 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday. However, according to Maxey, he had a justifiable reason for doing so.
After the game, Maxey took to X, formerly known as Twitter, where he spoke about the confrontation. The Sixers star said that he responded to the heckler because he insulted his mother, Denise Maxey:
“I don’t lose my cool often. I don’t like when people speak on my mom!” Maxey tweeted.
During the back-and-forth, Maxey could be heard asking the heckler what else he expected from him, as he was already leading his team in scoring:
“What more do you want me to do? Look at how many points I got,” Maxey said.
Maxey is widely viewed as one of the NBA’s most likable players and hasn’t gotten himself into any trouble in his first four seasons. So, many were surprised to see the 23-year-old so riled up. However, if the fan took a shot at his mother, most would agree that Maxey was right to confront the individual.
Maxey finished tied for a game-high 33 points to go along with one rebound, three assists, two steals and three 3-pointers on 52.0% shooting. However, the shorthanded Sixers were unable to compensate for the loss of superstar big man Joel Embiid, who was sidelined due to an illness.
Also Read: NBA MIP Power Rankings 2023-24: Top 5 candidates ft. Tyrese Maxey after Week 5
Tyrese Maxey says Sixers didn’t give up in Joel Embiid’s Absence
Tyrese Maxey and the Sixers trailed by as many as 29 points on Wednesday. However, they rallied to cut the Pelicans’ lead to single digits in the fourth quarter before eventually falling short.
After the game, Maxey spoke about how Philly didn’t give up despite being without its leading scorer (Embiid, 32.0 points per game):
“We’ve got some fighters on this team, so we were never going to give up,” Maxey said.
“We were never going to concede defeat. That’s not in our blood.”
Fortunately for the Sixers, they are not expected to be without Embiid (illness) very long, as he's considered day-to-day.
Philly (12-6) next plays the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics (14-4) on the road on Friday.
