VJ Edgecombe’s historic night helped carry the Sixers to a series splitting win over the Celtics.
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BOSTON — If you talk to VJ Edgecombe, or watch him communicate with his teammates or coaches, you can see a slight hint of the 20-year-old he is. Sometimes his eyes light up if someone says something funny. Sometimes he cracks a grin that reminds how recently he was a teenager. Watching him converse with Paul George makes it easy to picture a little brother looking up to his older sibling.
For the most part, however, this is someone whose maturity belies his years. What he shows off the court provides a window into what he is becoming on it. Rookies aren’t supposed to do what he did on Tuesday night. They aren’t supposed to drop 30 points and grab 10 rebounds against the mighty Boston Celtics in their second road playoff game. Actually, no rookie that young has ever done that in the history of the NBA, so Edgecombe is one of one in that regard.
By the time the Philadelphia 76ers put the finishing touch on Tuesday night’s 111-97 Game 2 road win over the Celtics, TD Garden went almost silent. As the Sixers celebrated on their bench in the waning seconds, the stands emptied, the handshakes and hugs were plenty, and almost everyone left the building stunned that a series seemingly so lopsided is now competitive.
Edgecombe was at the center of that. The following players were on the floor in Game 2: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, George and Tyrese Maxey. Aside from possibly Brown, Edgecombe was arguably the best of the bunch. That’s just not supposed to happen. Without star center Joel Embiid, Edgecombe and Maxey’s offensive dominance on Tuesday night showed Philadelphia’s pathway to making this series more balanced.
“I think he got to some of his spots the other night, and he just missed some shots,” Philadelphia head coach Nick Nurse said. “It’s just a matter of him realizing that those shots will be there and available to him. I thought he needed to keep taking them, and tonight, he made them. I thought once he saw some of those shots go in, it gave him a confidence boost. He got comfortable.”
Almost six months ago, TD Garden provided the venue for Edgecombe’s NBA debut. Thirty-four points later, the shooting guard out of Baylor had announced himself as an important part of what the Sixers needed to be this season. As time has passed, Edgecombe’s value has become more than just important. It is now absolute. Even with Embiid on the floor, which would lessen his offensive responsibility, Edgecombe’s defense, rebounding and secondary playmaking have established him as a player his team can’t do without.
In Game 2, Edgecombe’s jumper proved consistent, as he knocked home six 3-pointers and shot 12-of-20 from the field. More importantly, he got to every spot he wanted off the dribble, which is what truly stressed Boston’s defense. He consistently found his way into the paint, giving himself and the Sixers plenty of options.
“I think when we watched the film from Game 1, we all knew where the shots were going to come from,” Edgecombe said. “We knew where the help would be at. So, credit goes to my teammates. They trusted me, and we kept trusting each other. I was in a spot where my teammates wanted me to keep shooting the ball. And those were shots that I couldn’t pass up. So my teammates deserve a lot of the credit.”
Our rook. VJ Edgecombe. 🙌
30 PTS | 10 REB | 6 3PM @PALottery pic.twitter.com/hw34VTFF2Q
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 22, 2026
Until Embiid recovers from his recent emergency appendectomy, the 76ers will be tasked with navigating the playoffs without him. They looked ill-prepared and overwhelmed in Sunday afternoon’s Game 1 loss. They looked like a team that didn’t have a lot of fight left. Given how good the Celtics are, they also looked like a team that didn’t belong in the series.
Tuesday night’s win gives the Sixers a shot of hope that didn’t exist 48 hours ago. It led to a lively locker room. It led to funny moments, such as Philadelphia assistant general manager Jameer Nelson teaching Maxey on the fly how to work a necktie.
But most importantly, it buys Philadelphia some time. With each win, the 76ers widen the window for Embiid to get healthy. Heading back to Philadelphia tied, instead of facing a must win Game 3 on Friday night, is the best gift the 76ers could have given themselves.
The question now is whether Tuesday night was a one-off or the 76ers have actually found some things that work. It helps a bunch that they made the wide open shots they missed in bulk on Sunday afternoon. It helps that Boston missed some of the same wide open shots it made in Game 1. But the Celtics spent Game 2 guarding Edgecombe with people like Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard. That probably changes in Game 3, as does Boston’s urgency, which didn’t seem all that high Tuesday.
The 76ers played like they knew they needed a win. They showed emotion on every positive play. Maxey, who scored 29 points, was truly sensational in the final 10 minutes. George was brilliant in multiple areas. He hit several big shots on the heels of Boston making runs. His defense on the perimeter was terrific and he was a calming presence on both ends of the floor.
“On Sunday, we just weren’t in the right places and we just didn’t make the right plays,” Nurse said. “Tonight, we were a lot better. We made more good basketball reads. We didn’t give up nearly the amount of straight line drives to the basket as we did Sunday. We were just better.”
That’s what Nurse preached leading to Game 2. The Sixers held an intense practice Monday morning at Harvard on the heels of a long film session in which he dissected the Game 1 loss almost frame by frame. Philly’s objective was to make the Celtics feel as if they were actually in a playoff series.
Maxey and Edgecombe’s dominance was so pronounced that the two almost took turns tearing through Boston’s defense. It was one of the more complete games the Sixers have played this season.
“I told VJ he did his job,” Maxey said. “He did his job. He got us here. After that, it was my time. I knew that I had to close it out. We wanted to get Paul going early in the fourth quarter, and then we needed to close. I knew that I had to make some plays to put the game away.”
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Tony Jones is a Staff Writer at The Athletic covering the Philadelphia 76ers and the NBA. A native of the East Coast and a journalism brat as a child, he has an addiction to hip-hop music and pickup basketball, and his Twitter page has been used for occasional debates concerning Biggie and Tupac.
