The Philadelphia 76ers snapped their four-game losing streak on the backs of a tremendous game by Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. Maxey’s 39 points, along with a career-high six made threes by Edgecombe, led to a dominant 135-108 performance over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Coming into the night on a four-game slide, the Sixers were in desperate need of a get-right game. After a flat-out embarrassing loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, they looked completely rejuvenated, dominating in Minnesota.
Philadelphia quickly fell behind 8-1 to open up the game, but they found their footing both defensively and from range—two of the areas the team has struggled the most recently. The Sixers would go on a 34-18 run to close out the first quarter, up by nine. That type of resilience hasn’t been seen by this team in some time, but it is a welcome change to say the least.
Even without Joel Embiid, the Sixers found little trouble securing an advantage. Since mid-December, the team has struggled mightily without Embiid, losing eight of their last nine games without him. Prior to that, they had won 10 of sixteen matchups without Embiid.
Sunday night’s win marked their first without Embiid since they defeated a depleted Warriors roster on Feb. 3. Another refreshing sight.
In this game, fans in Philadelphia and around the NBA saw a glimpse of what a backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe could be.
Sixty-three combined points, ten threes, ten rebounds, nine assists, and four steals — the full stat line the young backcourt, unofficially dubbed VJ Maxx, produced. It was the highest combined point total by the pair since Dec. 20, but the contributions go much deeper than scoring.
Maxey and Edgecombe appear built for each other. Their skill sets, similar personalities, and shared, unquestionable work ethic initially drew Maxey to the rookie, qualities rare to see in a young star pairing; rarer still when one considers their chemistry off the court.
As exciting as this look into the future may be, there is still reason to temper expectations.
It’s not often a team looks more well-rested in the second game of a back-to-back than in the first. Tonight was as much a Timberwolves loss as it was a Sixers win. The absence of Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid, combined with early foul trouble for rookie big man Joan Beringer, put the Sixers in position to attack aggressively.
The Sixers have shown continued signs of wear as the season has progressed. While they deserve praise for rising to the occasion, this is one game of 82, not including potential playoff and play-in matchups.
That’s not to say the expectation should be that the Sixers immediately fall back into bad habits — though that possibility is realistic. Rather, they must replicate the energy and decisiveness from Sunday night.
They found success in this game with Maxey operating as the alpha over deferring the pace for pace’s sake, which has often been the game plan without Embiid in the lineup. That’s a fine line to walk, given the workload that Maxey has seen this season.
The Sixers did not walk into some rejuvenating hot spring, and the miles from the first 57 games of the season did not simply melt away. Still, surrounding Maxey with other offensive weapons — freeing him up and easing his workload — should have been a priority for Nurse all season and remains so moving forward.
The three-guard plus Oubre lineup that found success tonight and has sparked their offense at various points throughout the season is not a cure-all for their struggles on that end of the court. It worked against the small-ball lineup Minnesota was forced to play, but had Gobert or even Reid played in this game, there is no guarantee the result would have been the same. It’s simply one option at Nick Nurse’s disposal, but there remains a need for a second and ideally third game plan to adapt to when the offense grows stagnant, especially in games without Embiid.
Philadelphia next heads to Indiana for a matchup against the Pacers. Tip-off is set for Tuesday at 7 p.m. as the Sixers look to win their second game in a row for the first time since before the NBA trade deadline.
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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