Tyrese Maxey scores 50 points, dedicates win to Kelly Oubre - ESPN

PHILADELPHIA — Tyrese Maxey scored a career-high 50 points, Joel Embiid had 37 and the Philadelphia 76ers improved to 8-1 with their eighth straight victory, beating the Indiana Pacers 137-126 on Sunday night.

Maxey was 20-for-32 from the field and had 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks in the first of two straight games in Philadelphia between the teams. His previous high was 44 against Toronto on Oct. 28, 2022.

He dedicated the performance to Sixers forward Kelly Oubre Jr., who was hit by a car Saturday night and suffered a fractured rib.

«This had nothing to do with me,» Maxey said during his postgame interview. «This is all Kelly Oubre. We're praying for him. Love my dawg. I just met him, but I love him. I hope he gets well soon.»

Maxey's final basket came on a 32-foot step-back 3-pointer with 1:05 to play after Embiid — who has tagged Maxey with the nickname «The Franchise» in past interviews — passed him the ball and set a screen to free him.

«Joel wanted me to get 50 more than even I did,» Maxey said. «When he gave me the ball, he said, 'You are going to shoot this basketball.' And that's why I appreciate my teammates, my coaches and the fans. It was a great night and we got the win, which is what matters most.»

Embiid had 13 rebounds in 33 minutes. The 76ers are off to their best nine-game start since opening 10-0 in 2000-01 en route to the NBA Finals.

«We are playing together and trusting each other,» Embiid said. «It may look like we didn't play defense tonight, but [Indiana] plays so fast, it's incredible with the pace. So they are going to score a lot, but we just competed. We lowered our guard for a bit, but we had Tyrese to help close it out.»

Philadelphia played without Oubre, who was struck in a