Tyrese Maxey already has nine 40-point games. Only Allen Iverson had more for the Sixers by age 25.

If you think about what Tyrese Maxey is accomplishing, you might be astonished.

The 76ers point guard is coming off a 42-point performance Friday in a loss to the Denver Nuggets. It was the ninth 40-point game of Maxey’s career, surpassing Hall of Famer Charles Barkley for the second-highest total by a Sixer before the age of 25. Hall of Famer Allen Iverson (16) has the most such games in franchise history.

“I always trust my work … but I didn’t think of this,” Maxey said of reaching the same milestones as Hall of Famers. “You know what I mean? I’m just very grateful. God blessed me with an unbelievable talent, with an unbelievable work ethic and an unbelievable franchise that believes in me. So I’m very much appreciative of that, and just trying to follow in the footsteps of the people that came before me.”

Maxey, 24, was ranked fourth in the NBA in scoring (27.5 points per game) and third in steals (1.9) Sunday night before the game against the Boston Celtics at the Wells Fargo Center.

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Sixers coach Nick Nurse isn’t surprised that Maxey is playing at a level comparable to the team’s all-time greats. Nurse realized that the fifth-year veteran was special while coaching the Toronto Raptors against the Sixers three seasons ago in a first-round playoff series.

One of the Raptors’ game plans was to stop James Harden from scoring. That quickly turned to trying to keep up with Maxey and deny him the ball.

“There are some things you can do to disrupt some people,” Nurse said. “We had plans for him, and we could never seem to execute them just by his sheer speed and quickness. ...

“You walk out of those games, and you get back on the bus and you’re thinking, ‘Man, that dude is really, really, really good.’ I kind of always thought that since I got here. And I tried to explain to you guys [in the media], and I still say he’s got a lot of room to go.”

Eric Gordon was added to the Sixers' injury report with what the team labeled left knee soreness. As a result, the squad faced the Celtics minus seven players.

They were also without Joel Embiid (knee), Paul George (little finger), Andre Drummond (toe), Caleb Martin (hip), KJ Martin (foot) and Jared McCain (knee). McCain will be sidelined for the remainder of the season after surgery.