VJ Edgecombe scored 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Tuesday night as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Boston Celtics 111-97 in Boston, evening their first-round series at one game apiece. Philadelphia entered Game 2 as a 14.5-point underdog.
Edgecombe’s line was no ordinary breakout. The rookie became the youngest player in NBA postseason history to put up 30 points and 10 rebounds, passing Magic Johnson, and he matched a feat last done by a rookie in 1998, when Tim Duncan did it. Tyrese Maxey added 29 points and Paul George scored 19 for Philadelphia, which got the result while playing without Joel Embiid after an appendectomy.
The game began badly for the 76ers, who watched Boston surge ahead 26-13 after a 16-0 first-quarter run. But Philadelphia settled in and never let the night drift away, finishing 19-for-39 from 3-point range. Edgecombe went 6-for-10 from deep and Maxey was 5-for-12, giving the visitors the shotmaking they lacked in Sunday’s Game 1, when they were 4-for-23 from 3-point range and 8-for-37 on jumpers.
George said Edgecombe had been impressive all season and that he has long believed the rookie has already moved beyond that label. Coach Nick Nurse said his team was spectacular to start, then trusted the Celtics would not keep that level up all game. Edgecombe said the 76ers knew where the shots were coming from and where the help would be, adding that the group kept trusting each other.
The Celtics tried to keep their usual structure, using standard drop defensive coverage with their bigs 69.7% of the time, according to GeniusIQ. It was enough early to build the lead, but not enough once Philadelphia’s shooting found its range and Boston trimmed the margin to 91-89 in the fourth quarter before the 76ers pulled away. That combination of star power, shotmaking and poise gives Philadelphia a live series heading back to the middle games, with the playoff bracket now reset in a way few expected after Game 1. Edgecombe had already signaled this stage might not be too big for him in October, when he scored 34 points in his first game as a rookie in a season-opening win at TD Garden against the Celtics.
