MILWAUKEE — Tyrese Maxey showed how elite he is when he plays aggressively.

Paul George is a stabilizing force for the 76ers.

Justin Edwards will get increased playing time if he continues to play solid defense.

And the ramifications of the NBA’s condensed, 82-game schedule and increased pace were felt inside Fiserv Forum.

Those things stood out in the Sixers’ 123-114 overtime victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Aggressive Maxey

Maxey showed why he’s a legitimate candidate for MVP, scoring a career-high 54 points on 18-for-30 shooting to go with nine assists, five rebounds, three steals and three blocks. His 54 points tied Hall of Famer Allen Iverson for the ninth-most points scored in a regular-season game in team history. Iverson did it twice, in December 2004 and January 2001.

Maxey didn’t have a repeat of Wednesday night when he attempted one fourth-quarter shot attempt in a 121-112 loss to the Toronto Raptors. On Wednesday, Maxey passed out of double-teams and made what would typically be the correct play in the fourth quarter. However, the Sixers aren’t good enough for him to serve as a decoy or a secondary player at this moment.

Against the Bucks, with the Sixers down 85-82 with 10:10 remaining, Maxey came up with three clutch plays in a short span.

The guard drained a 20-foot jumper to pull the Sixers within one point. After grabbing the defensive rebound on the ensuing possession, Maxey drained a 3-pointer to put the Sixers up, 87-85, with 9:26 to play.

He scored 22 of his points in the fourth quarter and overtime session on 6-for-9 shooting. He made four clutch foul shots in overtime.

The Sixers need Maxey to remain aggressive throughout games to win.

George’s presence

George’s presence has been noticeable in the two games he’s played in this season. The 35-year-old, who made his season debut on Monday, provided early offense and made a defensive impact in Monday’s victory over the Los Angeles Clippers and Thursday win against the Bucks.

He finished with 21 points, five rebounds and two steals while playing 24 minutes, 42 seconds against Milwaukee. This comes after George had nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks versus the Clippers.

George had an excellent start for the second consecutive game.

After scoring the game’s first five points in Monday’s debut, he scored the Sixers’ first 11 points while making his first four shots on this occasion.

He scored the game’s first basket by driving through the lane and muscling his way to a basket. Then he added three-pointers on the Sixers’ next three possessions.

The Sixers’ following points came when he assisted on an alley-oop dunk by VJ Edgecombe to make the Sixers’ lead 13-4 with 7:11 left in the quarter. George came out with 6:16 left in the quarter before returning at the start of the second.

While he missed his lone shot and committed a turnover, George made a pair of foul shots and had an assist to go with a steal in his short stint.

The 6-foot-8, 220-pounder did a solid job running the Sixers’ offense in the half-court and provided solid defense. One of his highlights was blocking Kyle Kuzma’s layup attempt at the 8:30 mark of the third quarter.

If there was a negative to his performance, it was that he appeared to run out of gas. He missed five of his next six shots after starting the game 4 for 4. He even missed a third-quarter layup.

Edwards’ defense

With Kelly Oubre Jr. out (sprained left knee), Edwards made his second consecutive start at small forward. There was no drop-off defensively with him in the lineup against the Bucks. While Maxey and George provided the offensive scoring, Edwards' standout provided stiff defense. Edwards finished with a season-high two steals, both coming in the opening quarter. The most he had in a game before Thursday was one. And he did that three times in his first 12 games.

While he struggled shooting (five points, 2-for-9 shooting), Edwards kept making the right plays on the offensive end. On one occasion, he drove the lane and wrapped a pass around a defender and into the arms of Andre Drummond, who scored an easy layup. Edwards had three assists and three rebounds.

Battered teams

The Sixers were without Joel Embiid (right knee injury management), Oubre and Adem Bona (sprained right ankle). Maxey (right quadriceps contusion) was cleared to play right before the game.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (left adductor strain) could be out for up to two weeks. The Bucks were also missing Taurean Prince (neck surgery) and Kevin Porter Jr. (right knee meniscus surgery).

But long injury lists aren’t isolated only to the Sixers and Bucks. injuries have been up around the league this season.

Sacramento Kings standout center Domantas Sabonis (partially torn meniscus in left knee) will miss three to four weeks. Los Angeles Clippers guard Bradley Beal (fractured hip) is expected to have season-ending surgery. And the Dallas Mavericks’ Anthony Davis, Portland Trail Blazers’ Jrue Holiday, San Antonio Spurs’ Dylan Harper, and Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant and Ty Jerome are out with calf strains.

So why the league-wide uptick in injuries?

“Anybody can speculate about what they think it is, right?” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said. “I think nutrition plays a big part of it. I think that the preseason plays a part of it, too. I think we are not getting a lot of game-like reps [in the preseason], and then all of a sudden we’re going 100 miles an hour [in the regular season.]

“And like I said … on our way over here, this is our third road back-to-back, and it isn’t even Thanksgiving yet. The games early in the season have been coming out of the chute. It’s a heavy, heavy load.”

It was their fourth back-to-back overall through their 17 games. And the Sixers have been dealing with injuries all season, as George (left knee injury management), Jared McCain (right thumb surgery) and Trendon Watford (hamstring) have also missed time.

Embiid has missed the last six games. Thursday was the fifth straight game he missed due to his right knee.

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