PHILADELPHIA — Tyrese Maxey hurt Big Bro’s feelings Sunday night. When James Harden and the Clippers flew in from Boston on Sunday evening, Harden expected Maxey to have called and left a message, or to at least have sent a text, inviting Harden to meet Maxey somewhere in Philly for food and fellowship.

But then the plane touched down, and Harden turned on his phone and … crickets.

The Beard was bummed. After all, he’d mentored Maxey for the 18 months they’d been 76ers teammates in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. It was a mentorship Maxey rode to his All-Star appearance the very next season.

They are similar, and they remain close. When Harden began battling the Sixers’ front office in 2023, Maxey defended him and called him “my big brother.”

On Sunday, though, Big Bro was left to his own devices, and he mentioned that to Maxey before they faced each other Monday night: “Bro, you didn’t call me. I mean, like when I landed … nothing.”

Maxey replied, “Yeah, I thought you were gonna go to sleep. Back-to-back. [You’re] getting old now.”

Harden might be old — he’s 36, and he’s playing in his 17th season — but he’d dropped 37 on the Celtics, he entered Philly averaging 26 points in his 12 games this season, and he’d averaged 34.0 points, 9.8 rebounds and 8.8 assists in his last four games. This, after making his 11th All-Star team last season.

Harden managed 28 points Monday, but 18 of those came in the first half. Then the Sixers threw a few junk defenses at him, and he missed 14 of 16 shots in the second half and went 0 for 6 in the fourth quarter, when the Clippers blew a 10-point lead. The Sixers muzzled Harden and won, 110-108, serving the Clippers their eighth loss in their last nine games.

It wasn’t just the box-and-one and double-team schemes that diminished Harden’s effectiveness. Playing without Kawhi Leonard and Bradley Beal, Harden had averaged 39 minutes per game in his last five games. He played almost 37 minutes Monday.

“The minutes he’s been playing … I think he got tired,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “Got worn down.”

Afterward, Harden, who has the fashion sense of a Muppet, put on his fuzziest sneakers, used a pick to groom his luxurious facial fur, shook his head, and said, “I’m not tired. I wasn’t exhausted.”

In fact, he said he has not felt this good since the 2019-20 season, his last full season in Houston, when he won his third consecutive scoring title. A raft of injuries, he said, hindered his efforts to both perform consistently and to reach his physical peak.

Now, fully healthy, “I feel amazing,” Harden said.

But then, Harden has faced years of criticism about his conditioning — he once was accused of wearing a fat suit to force a trade from Houston to Brooklyn — so he will forever challenge any hint that he might ever get tired.

Little Bro certainly wasn’t tired.

After missing eight of 12 shots in the first half, Maxey scored 27 of his game-high 39 points in the second half, including 14 in the fourth quarter. It was the eighth time in his 13 games that he’s scored at least 30 points and the fifth time he’s scored at least 39.

The student has surpassed the master. Of course, the student is 11 years younger, and, as ever, affectionate:

“I love James,” Maxey said.

The rest of Philadelphia does not share his Brotherly Love.

Harden was roundly booed every time his name was mentioned Monday night, and the ire came across generations. When Harden bobbled a loose ball near the sideline in the fourth quarter, a middle-aged businessman in a tailored suit rage-cheered from the third row. Ten seats down, a 20-something in a fancy sweatsuit leaned over fans in the second row so he could hard-clap and taunt Harden from a few feet closer.

This is all lingering residue of Harden’s acrimonious departure from Philly in the late summer of 2023, when he forced a trade to his hometown Clippers. He burned the bridge between himself and Sixers president Daryl Morey, who acquired and enriched Harden in Houston and Philly but declined to overpay him two years ago. In response, Harden ended his brief and disappointing time with the Sixers by opting into the final season of his deal and leveraging his way home.

He’ll always be shown a little love in Philly as long as Maxey’s around.

“James has done a lot for me,” Maxey said. Like every little brother, Maxey relishes the chance to outperform Harden: “He scored on me once today. The other times he couldn’t score on me. I tell him, ‘You can’t score me. I know everything you do!’ ”

That’s because, from crossover drives to step-back 3s to wrong-footed finishes, Harden taught Maxey so much. More than anything, Harden said, he is most impressed that Maxey took to heart the message to always stay hungry.

“Just the aggressiveness that he has,” Harden said, “whether you’re missing or you’ve got it going, he keeps shooting. He had that big fourth quarter. So, I’m just proud of the jump that he’s made and the continuous success that he had.

“And, you know what? He’s just getting started.”

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