Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid star as Philadelphia 76ers boost play-off hopes with victory over Miami Heat

Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid delivered inspiring performances in the Philadelphia 76ers' vital NBA win over the Miami Heat to boost their hopes of a play-off place.

Maxey marked his return from a two-game injury absence with 37 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds in the 109-105 victory, while Embiid contributed 29 points.

The 76ers currently occupy eighth place - which would be enough to qualify for the play-in tournament - while the win improves their record to 42-35 and gives them a helpful buffer over the Chicago Bulls in ninth spot.

After the game, last year’s MVP Embiid, who is ineligible for this season’s award after missing too many games through injury, insisted he was pleased not to be involved.

The centre called the MVP environment “kind of boring”.

“I’m happy I’m not in the [MVP] conversation that has been toxic for a long time,” Embiid said.

“But I’ll be honest, this year has been kind of boring. There’s not enough toxicity going around and it’s pretty fun and also at some point it’s pretty bad too.

“I’m glad I’m nowhere near to that, I’m just focussed on getting back healthy, you know. Obviously, all great candidates, they all deserve to win, it’s just unfortunate that only one person has to win.”

After having surgery on his lateral meniscus in his left knee in February, Embiid has been restricted to just 36 games this year, while the threshold to qualify for the award is 65 games.

In Embiid’s absence, Nikola Jokic is the front-runner for the accolade after a sensational season in Denver Nuggets colours.

However, the Serbian’s impressive contribution of 36 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists was not enough to help his team overcome the LA Clippers.

Tyronn Lue’s side battled Jokic’s 24th triple-double of the season and an early Nuggets 17-point lead to squeeze past the defending NBA champions 102-100.

The Clippers, who have already secured at least a play-in spot, bolstered their hopes of a place in the automatic play-offs with the victory.

Elsewhere, the New York Knicks beat the Sacramento Kings to end a three-game streak without a win.

In a 120-109 win, Jalen Brunson starred with 35 points, while Josh Hart contributed 31 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

The Golden State Warriors made it six wins out of six with a crucial 133-110 victory over the Houston Rockets.

The Rockets were the only team who could knock the Warriors from the play-in spots, but 29 points each for Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson gave the Warriors a comfortable win.

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