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Tim Bontemps
multiple authors
BOSTON — Back in October, philadelphia 76ers Opened their season at TD Garden against their Eastern Conference rivals. boston celticsand newbie VJ Edgecombe It was a performance for the ages.
On Tuesday night, as Philadelphia’s season ended, Edgecombe did it again.
His spectacular 30-point, 10-rebound performance was the first by a rookie since Tim Duncan accomplished the feat in 1998. Edgecombe is also the youngest player to achieve this number in NBA postseason history, surpassing the previous record holder Magic Johnson.
And with the help of 29 points and late shotmaking tyreese maxi76ers surprisingly stepped up Edgecombe’s game win 111-97 Also swept the Celtics in the first round series by one game each.
“I mean, [Edgecombe has] Was impressive throughout the season,” said paul georgeWho added 19 points. “When you think about it, how he started his first NBA game in this building, and I’m sure he was in a small percentage, or a small group of players, that did what he did on opening night, and then put the whole season together and got to this point where he’s showcasing who he is and his abilities…
“I’ve been saying it all year: He’s more than just a rookie.”
The 76ers, who completely collapsed in the opening game of this series and were left without a star joel embiid (Appendectomy), entered Game 2 as a 14.5-point underdog, but handled whatever the Celtics threw at them. This included a 16–0 run in the first quarter that gave Boston a 26–13 lead and another late push by the Celtics that made it 91–89 and electrified the crowd in the fourth quarter.
“I thought he had a great start,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. “I mean, they were flying. They were making everything. They were just running to jump over everybody for rebounds. And I just said, ‘Listen, you’re very solid out there. They’re great right now, and let’s just assume they’re not going to be that great the whole game and just hang in there.’ And our people did.”
They did so because Edgecombe, who faltered in the second and third quarters after a tough fall, played like a seasoned veteran. The 6-foot-4 guard — who had his third-highest scoring debut as a rookie when he scored 34 points in a season-opening win in October — came flying in for rebound after rebound, also looking incredibly composed in getting to his spot, rising up and making shot after shot.
It was emblematic of Philadelphia’s entire approach in this game, and a complete reversal from Sunday’s Game 1. In that game, the 76ers shot an abysmal 4 of 23 from 3-point range and, according to GeniusIQ, 8 of 37 on jumpers – their worst performance all season.
In Tuesday’s game, after the Celtics heavily employed a standard drop defensive coverage with their bigs (they ran it 69.7% of the time, per GeniusIQ, the third-highest rate of any team in a playoff game since player tracking data began in the 2013-14 season), the 76ers feasted on the 76ers. Philadelphia finished the game on 19 of 39 from 3, and Edgecombe (6 of 10) and Maxey (5 of 12) both made more in this game than the entire team in Game 1.
“To be honest, I think we all knew where the shots were going to come from,” Edgecombe said. “We knew where we were going to get shots, where we were going to get assists. So I give my teammates credit, we trusted each other. Everyone can make plays on the court, so we trusted each other and I was in the spot and they wanted me to shoot the ball.
“It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t shoot the ball, so I had to shoot the ball, hit wide-open shots and try to get assists from my teammates.”
But, despite all that, the Celtics still cut it to 91-89 with 6:25 remaining. The TD Garden crowd was roaring and expecting this to be another win at the hands of their rivals, whom the Celtics have defeated in six consecutive playoff series since 1982. And yet, it was Maxey who knocked down consecutive pull-up 3-pointers that pushed the lead to eight and gave the 76ers the separation they needed to close out the game.
“VJ did his job,” Maxi said. “He brought us here. [When] They kind of cut the lead down to two and I was like, ‘Okay, it’s my time to end the game.'”
And it did, as Boston found itself on the wrong end of a loss that felt all too familiar to anyone who has followed this team over the last decade. The Celtics finished the game with 13 of 50 from 3-point range derrick white (2-for-10), jayson tatum And Sam Hauser (Both took 2-8) and himself became 6 for 26.
Tatum had 19 points, 14 boards and nine assists, and Brown finished with 36 points, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the same kind of loss that has repeatedly plagued this team during the last few postseasons.
“I’m confident in our group,” Brown said. “We’ve grown a lot during this time [of the season] …We just have to keep the right mindset and support each other, and just breathe.
“It’s going to be a journey. There will be some ups and downs, but I’m looking forward to it with my guys.”
76ers fans will be eager to welcome their rivals to South Philadelphia on Friday night for this series with Embiid, who stayed in Philadelphia to recover from an appendectomy he had 12 days ago in Houston, starting a strength and conditioning program on Monday.
