Tyrese Maxey drops 28 points as 76ers top Heat without Joel Embiid, James Harden

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Tyrese Maxey told teammate Joel Embiid he’d step up in his absence. Then, Maxey took over the game and the fans’ chants normally reserved for the 76ers' star center.

Maxey scored 13 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter, including nine in a row during a crucial stretch, and short-handed Philadelphia — without Embiid and James Harden — beat the Eastern Conference-leading Miami Heat 113-106 on Monday night.

Shake Milton scored 20 points and Furkan Korkmaz added 18 for Philadelphia, which pulled within 2½ games of the Heat in the conference. Embiid sat out with back soreness and Harden with left hamstring tightness.

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Philadelphia 76ers' Tyrese Maxey, left, goes upper a shot against Miami Heat's Tyler Herro, center, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 21, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

"He said, ‘Go out there and help us get a ‘W’," Maxey said of Embiid’s pregame message. "I told him, ‘I got him.’"

Boy, did he ever.

Maxey took over the final 2½ minutes with the game on the line. In a contest that was tight from the tip, Philadelphia was clinging to a two-point lead when Maxey scored on a drive, was fouled and made the free throw for a 106-101 lead with 2:18 left.

After Jimmy Butler missed a 3-point try, Maxey hit a step-back 3 for a 109-101 lead. Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro couldn’t convert at the other hand, and the second-year guard from Kentucky drained another 3, this time for a 112-101 lead with 1:03 to play that brought "MAX-EY! MAX-EY!" chants from the sold-out crowd which usually reserves the loudest cheers for Embiid.

"He’s just not