Tyrese Maxey does not expect to be limited by his finger injury for the remainder of the NBA season, having returned to help the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Charlotte Hornets.

Maxey had 26 points, eight assists and seven rebounds on his first outing since March 7, having missed 11 games with a right finger tendon strain.

The Sixers had coped well in Maxey's absence, going 7-4 in that span, but Saturday's win was one of their most important of the season, given the teams sit seventh and eighth in the Eastern Conference and are only separated by a game and a half.

"I let the game come to me at the beginning," Maxey said afterwards. "Everybody was like, 'Dude, all right. We know you just got back. Come on, let's play.' I was like, 'I got you.'"

Joel Embiid had 29 points and Paul George also had 26 for the Sixers, who have another road trip on Monday against the Miami Heat.

Maxey suffered a similar finger injury last season and had to be shut down for the end of the campaign, but with Philadelphia hoping to climb into the East's top six and avoid the play-in tournament, he does not anticipate a repeat. 

"It was different. Last year I didn't stop playing. So this year, it's still there, for sure, but it's way different," Maxey said of his injured finger. 

𝙯𝙚𝙧𝙤 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠. pic.twitter.com/t4cYbNGM5c

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) March 29, 2026

"I don't have to play with the buddy tape, and that really helps. That really helps, and shoutout to the medical staff. They did a really good job of helping me. I told them this, 'I gotta play. I gotta play, man. My three weeks are up!'

"I had to pass all the tests and talk to the different doctors and do everything the medical staff told me to do.

"I played no five-on-five, nothing. I just said, 'You know what? I've been working my tail off, and I want to be there for my team.'"