The Sixers locked in and made the adjustments necessary to overcome the Celtics in Boston, 111-97, stealing home-court advantage. In a hard-fought win, VJ Edgecombe starred on a big-time stage, putting up 30 points and 10 rebounds as he led his team to even the series 1-1.
Here’s what stood out.
There is nowhere to start the retelling of the game except with the rookie-in-name-only, VJ Edgecombe.
In just his second playoff game, with the city of Boston loudly against him, Edgecombe did exactly what he’s done the whole season. He remained authentically himself, including continued aggressive play.
Heading into the series against Boston, Edgecombe discussed his lack of fear, and that mental toughness was on full display in this matchup, especially in Game 2.
Fighting through a sore back after a hard foul that led to him twice leaving the game and spending time on a stationary bike to stay warm and loose, Edgecombe remained aggressive and hungry to impact the game in a number of ways.
He’s been a sensational rebounder throughout most of the year, but struggled in the Sixers’ Game 1 loss. Recognizing that, Edgecombe worked his way back into the scrum constantly to come down with double-digit rebounds for the second time in three postseason games and the fifth time since the start of February.
Alongside his rebounding struggles, Edgecombe struggled shooting the ball in Game 1; not uncommon among Sixers players in that game. Boston repeatedly gave Edgecombe a window to shoot, hoping to lull him into a series of poor shots, but he knocked down 6-of-10 attempts from three, making them pay for their gamble.
Then there’s his defensive impact, which included both staying steadfast in one-on-one matchups and staying active in passing lanes and available in short defensive rotations as the Sixers collapsed the halfcourt against the Celtics.
He’s young, and it shows at times in how “wild” he can play as his head coach has said, but VJ Edgecombe is also fearless, and there’s an aspect of maturity to his game that is well beyond what can reasonably be expected of a 20-year-old rookie.
Nick Nurse has been, often justifiably, criticized throughout the year not only for his initial game plan, but also for his questionable adjustments. As fair as those criticisms have been, he deserves equally loud praise for the team’s efforts in this game.
Offensively, Nurse was far more creative in his approach, utilizing some of the Sixers’ best “in case of emergency” actions while also adding wrinkles to keep the offense a bit more fluid, including working Tyrese Maxey off-ball, which helped keep the offense churning.
Defensively, the Sixers held tight to Nurse’s core scheme, but executed at a far higher level, showcasing what it can accomplish on an ideal night. The Sixers not only worked the passing lanes but also displayed tremendous teamwork, collapsing on the ball in synchronized fashion, limiting driving lanes without overextending themselves when helping.
The players deserve a ton of credit for the execution, but so does Nurse for getting them to buy back into the system, especially after a 30-point shellacking.
It was a rough first three and a half quarters for Maxey. Held to an inefficient 17 points, it looked for a time like Edgecombe would have to carry the Sixers on his back all the way to the finish line.
Maxey continues to fight through a pinky injury on his shooting hand, which has clearly hampered him through the first two games, but by remaining engaged and aggressive, he eventually came through the other side with an extremely clutch performance, scoring 12 points in the final six minutes of the game.
Quietly building up his assist numbers in this game, Maxey had somewhat surprisingly amassed 29 points and nine assists by the end of the game. In a vacuum, a solid game, but it doesn’t truly tell the story of his initial struggles and, more importantly, his resilience and success when the Sixers needed it the most.
As the vocal leader of the team, Maxey has consistently lived up to the standard he hopes to set this season, and those efforts have not gone unnoticed by his teammates. That dedication and to use the word of the season again, resilience, has spiritually led the team throughout the season, and was a major contributor to the Sixers managing to steal home-court advantage.
The Sixers will head back to Philly as they prepare to host Boston in Games 3 and 4. After stealing home-court advantage, the team is now tasked with building a series lead as they inch ever closer to Joel Embiid’s return and an attempt to upset the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET at the Xfinity Mobile Arena.
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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