Edgecombe, Edwards combine for 70 in Sixers’ 139–118 win over Kings

VJ Edgecombe and Justin Edwards set individual career-highs while combining for 70 points in the Sixers’ 139–118 win over the Kings Thursday night.

Going from the Denver Nuggets to the Sacramento Kings is a welcome change for most NBA teams, and the Sixers were no exception. Scoring 45 first-quarter points — tied for their season-high — Philadelphia found their footing early in this matchup, led by sensational performances by two of their young wings.

Here’s what stood out.

A night to remember

Not so much an asterisk as a disclaimer, but yes, they were playing the Sacramento Kings. That will tempt some to overlook this performance, but the Kings, for their faults, have also won a quarter of their season wins over their last 12 games heading into this matchup. Sacramento’s front office clearly has its eyes on the 2026 Draft, but the players have done what they can to remain competitive this month.

For Edgecombe and Edwards in particular, this was a game they will look back on fondly. The season so far has been filled with highs and lows for both players. Edgecombe was thrust into a starting role on a potential playoff team — a role in which he’s mostly thrived, while Edwards was relegated to an afterthought until injuries forced his return to regular minutes. Both players have seen their roles fluctuate and have generally responded well, but tonight was special.

Both players came out of the gate hunting for shots and found tremendous success. Edwards scored 13 first-quarter points, outscoring Edgecombe (12) by one as the two led the Sixers to a 12-point lead after one quarter of action.

Here’s a quick rundown of the accolades accomplished in this game:

• VJ Edgecombe (38) scored a new career-high, the most points scored by a Sixers rookie since Tyrese Maxey’s 39-point performance against the Nuggets when the Sixers managed to field only seven healthy players.
• Edgecombe also became the fourth Sixers rookie to score 38 or more points and rack up 10 or more assists in a single game, joining Allen Iverson, Ben Simmons and Jared McCain. 
• Justin Edwards set career marks in both points (32) and threes made, knocking down 7/11 shots from deep.

Edgecombe will remain a fixture in the rotation as the Sixers are set to begin seeing a number of crucial reinforcements. Edwards will not play 30-plus minutes a night when that happens, but he must remain in the rotation moving forward. He’s earned that, and the Sixers frankly need him.

Balancing records and rest

The Sixers were back to having fun Thursday night. That matters. Rewarding Edgecombe and Edwards amidst this turbulent season by allowing them to pursue career-high marks is also important, particularly from a morale standpoint. The question is, how should one, Nick Nurse in this case, balance those rewards with preserving what few players he has left?

Wanting your young players to maximize their accomplishments when possible is admirable, but there’s a point at which it’s arguably irresponsible. Nurse has, on more than one occasion, been accused of overtaxing his players. From the team’s practice habits to the excessive minutes select players spend on the court, it has been a consistent and fair point of criticism.

In this game, a 20-plus point blowout, the Sixers had a chance to rest some of their few remaining healthy players, but Edgecombe still played nearly 40 minutes.

As a rookie, Edgecombe is 13th in the league in minutes per game. He ranks above the likes of Nikola Jokic, Cade Cunningham, Jaylen Brown, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Donovan Mitchell, among others. Despite this and the fact that he is the Sixers’ only remaining starter, he continues to play excessive minutes.

Once setting a new career-high was within reach, helping Edgecombe meet that mark made sense, but the nearly five additional minutes he played thereafter can’t be so easily explained.

It will sound like nitpicking in a blowout win, but it is something that must be constantly weighed, and that has historically been a major struggle for Nick Nurse.

Other takeaways

• Another quality March performance for Quentin Grimes, who added an efficient 27 points in this game. The major question that remains for Grimes is how he will fare when the Sixers’ starters return to the court. Despite an overall inconsistent season, Grimes has contributed well while playing alongside Tyrese Maxey, but has largely struggled without him on the court. The Sixers will likely need to make use of their three-guard lineup at some point during the postseason, and they will need Grimes to be ready and able to perform when that moment comes.
• Andre Drummond has responded well after returning from back spasms. Prior to his time on the sidelines, Drummond was a clear negative in terms of his impact, but he has bounced back, averaging 9.3 points, 12.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists over his last three games.
• Trendon Watford should get an opportunity to build chemistry with the Sixers at full health, if such a day ever comes. He’s struggled on both ends throughout the season and has not made a single three-pointer since before the trade deadline, but he’s been drastically more impactful alongside Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Kelly Oubre. He should get an opportunity to re-establish himself in such lineups, but if his struggles continue, it’s fair to wonder if the Sixers would pick up his club option this offseason.

Up next for the Sixers

The Sixers will next head to Utah to face the tanking Jazz. With Joel Embiid flirting with his return tonight against Sacramento, the hope is that he will be available for the team’s final matchup of their three-game Western Conference road trip.

Tip-off is set for 9:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, March 21.

Unless otherwise stated, all stats included in this article are via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass, Basketball Reference or Team Rankings. All salary information via Spotrac.

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