Tyrese Maxey, who has had to bear the responsibility of the Philadelphia 76ers' leading scorer with reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid out injured, came up big on the defensive end in a 121-114 win Friday over the Charlotte Hornets.

Maxey, while quickly becoming one of the brightest young stars in the league, is not known for being a strong defender, which Maxey said fueled him Friday night. Maxey, in addition to scoring a game-high 33 points, blocked Tre Mann's dunk from behind with less than 30 seconds left to seal the game for the 76ers.

“I took something out of Joel's book. I've been reading everybody's Twitters, like tweets, and everybody said I can't play defense, so I've just been trying to play better defense,” Maxey said after the win.

Maxey's defense has been criticized quite a bit so far in his young career, but he has made up for it and more on the offensive end, particularly this season. As the Sixers' starting point guard, Maxey, who was named to his first All-Star team this season, is averaging career-highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks.

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The weight on Maxey's shoulders has gotten a lot heavier in the absence of Embiid, however, as the MVP center was averaging 35.3 points per game before undergoing surgery on his meniscus in early February. Despite Maxey's efforts, the Sixers have struggled without Embiid; Philadelphia is 26-8 when Embiid plays and 8-17 when he doesn't.

Maxey will have to continue to show up defensively and lead the 76ers on offense, or the team could fall into the Play-In Tournament. With 23 games remaining, the Sixers are only a game ahead of the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers, who sit in seventh and eighth place in the Eastern Conference, respectively.