PHILADELPHIA — Tyrese Maxey scored 36 points after he was denied a clear goaltending that would’ve won the game in regulation as the 76ers beat Houston, 128-122, in overtime Thursday night. The referees missed a clear goaltend by Kevin Durant when Maxey drove to the basket with 3 seconds left in regulation. But Maxey scored six points in overtime as the 76ers avoided a 1-4 start to their six-game homestand. The final basket was the 10th assist for Joel Embiid, who tallied 32 points and 15 rebounds on the two-year anniversary of his 70-point game. Kelly Oubre added 26 points, and VJ Edgecombe had nine points plus a pair of hustle rebounds in overtime. Durant led Houston with 36 points, including a 5-for-6 start from 3-point range. But he missed two triples in a late overtime possession to give the 76ers a window. Oubre helped set the tone with 11 points while playing the entire first quarter. Oubre had shot just 8-for-22 (36.4 percent) in his first seven games back from injury. He went 5-for-10 from 3-point range in Tuesday’s loss to Phoenix, then 4-for-5 against Houston, helping put the 76ers up seven at halftime, 68-61. The lead stretched as large as nine in the third quarter but required a Paul George 18-footer at the buzzer to send the 76ers into the fourth with a 90-88 lead. Houston went up as many as nine in the fourth off a 17-2 run, thanks to nine points from Reed Sheppard and a pair of Tari Eason 3-pointers. But Maxey tied it with a 16-footer with 1:32 left at 113 each. Durant answered with a midrange runner. Embiid turned the ball over, but George came up with a steal off Alperen Sengun to feed a Maxey deuce in transition to tie it at 115. Oubre appeared to have a steal the next possession before a foul was called on Maxey, though Oubre stood tall to defend a Durant leaner that rimmed out. Maxey drove past a pair of defenders with less than three seconds left in what was a clear goaltend that went uncalled to win it. The 76ers went up five in overtime, thanks to an Edgecombe putback. A Maxey drive put them up for good at 122-120. Oubre put them up 124-120 with a drive, then Edgecombe drew a push off from Durant to give the 76ers a chance to take control. * * * Maxey got off to another slow shooting start, at 2-for-8. Tuesday against Phoenix, he never recovered, enduring a 7-for-25 night in which the NBA minutes leader scored 20 points in 43 minutes. He logged 40 minutes a night earlier in a win over Indiana. Thursday, he found a way out of his shooting struggles, starting with a transition 3-pointer that seemed to get him going. He made six of his next nine attempts Thursday and finished 15-for-28 from the field. He added 10 assists. Still, finding rest for the All-Star starter is a priority for Nick Nurse. “He played a lot of minutes of a back-to-back. I would expect him to be tired,” Nurse said. “But we try to do the best we can. Certainly on days off, he’s pretty limited in what he’s doing. We’d try to hopefully get to a point where we can cut his minutes down some. I think it’s trying to sneak in a few longer stints of him resting. I really would like him to be super fresh to play the last eight, nine minutes of the game, little bit more fresh than maybe he’s been.” * * * George returned after missing the last two games. He had reported too much knee soreness to pass a fitness test for Tuesday, the back end of a back-to-back. With George back, the 76ers opted for a novel starting lineup with Oubre and George next to Edgecombe, Maxey and Embiid, leaving Dominick Barlow to come off the bench. ...read more read less