Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey gives update on his ankle after loss to Heat

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers received a scare in the third quarter when Tyrese Maxey limped off the floor and went to the locker room. That could have spelled trouble for a Sixers team dealing with a lot of injuries at the moment.

Instead, Maxey came back and finished the game in a tough 109-104 loss to the Miami Heat. He finished with 30 points, seven assists and six rebounds as he was able to overcome what was bothering him.

Coach Nick Nurse revealed after the loss that Maxey left with an ankle injury. He got it re-taped before coming back out to finish the game.

“Yeah, I’m alright,” Maxey said of his ankle. “It happens, part of it, we move. Got some time off so it should be great.”

Maxey does have some time off now as the Sixers don’t play again until Feb. 22 after the All-Star break, but the young guard out of Kentucky will be heading to Indianapolis now to compete in the All-Star Game on Sunday. He will also be part of the skills competition on Saturday as he will remain in the spotlight for a bit.

“Surreal honestly, me and BK (director of performance Ben Kenyon) were just talking about it when I was lifting,” Maxey said of the upcoming weekend. “I just started smiling because I like to think about it. It’s amazing, just grateful.”

Now, Maxey will just be looking to make the most of the weekend. The Sixers (32-22) are still in a great position and will look to get a bit healthier coming out of the break. Now is the time to just relax and enjoy his first All-Star experience.

“I’m going to do a lot of talking,” Maxey finished. “A lot of experiencing it and a lot of it is just soaking it all in, honestly. It’s my first one, hopefully, the first of many, but it means something. Especially without Joel (Embiid), being able to represent the 76ers in the All-Star game. For me to be able to go out there and represent this organization is a good thing. I’m very appreciative of it.”