PHILADELPHIA — In the Philadelphia 76ers' win over the Houston Rockets, Tyrese Maxey and Patrick Beverley provided critical complementary production on offense around Joel Embiid, who went off for 41 points. It's the expectation for the former but not as much for the latter, who still has a knack for getting into the paint, hitting shots and setting up teammates when needed.

NBA fans have come to know Beverley for his on-court antics, tough defense and relentless intensity. His main value on offense has been his perimeter shooting. But while his three-point percentage dips below the league average for the third straight season, his ability to drive into the paint has been huge for Philly when Maxey sits.

Sometimes, when Beverley uncorks one of his runners or hook shots out of a fake and pivots back into the paint, he'll hover his hand over the court to let his defender know he was too small to stop him. Although he sometimes gets it thrown back at him, it has become a signature play from one of the favorites among 76ers fans.

When asked about Beverley's ability to score in the paint, Maxey called it impressive and pointed to how being on PatBev's side of the “too small” celebration is good.

“It's funny, I ain’t gonna lie. It’s funny — but it is very impressive,” Maxey said. “It's funny when he's on your team and he does it, you know what I mean? Because when he's not on your team, it's not funny. But when he's on your team and you see him do it, he does the little too small [celebration], it's great.”

Nick Nurse really liked what he saw from Beverley and the bench in the win over the Rockets. The celebration he does is a showing of his immense passion for the game, which Nurse is a big fan of.

“He would go through a few dry spells here and then he makes a tough layup knocked in a three,” the 76ers' head coach said “I just think he plays, but he plays the game — loves and plays — with so much passion that I just think that if that's in your heart all the time, good things are gonna happen to you as a player. personally. And it certainly happened for him tonight and it was a big effect for our team as well.”

Maxey had 27 points and seven assists while Beverley tallied 11 points, six assists and five rebounds. They were first and second on the 76ers in assists in this game. Both 76ers guards were key in the win and did their jobs, as typical, in vastly different fashions.