With their backs against the wall, Bahamian rookie sensation Valdez ‘VJ’ Edgecombe Jr. and the Philadelphia 76ers responded Tuesday night, beating the Boston Celtics, 113-97, to pull to within three games to two in their National Basketball Association (NBA) best-of-seven first-round playoff series.
Game six is set for Philadelphia on Thursday.
It’s been said that the hardest thing to do in a playoff series is close a team out, and the Sixers proved that true at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, on Tuesday.
Edgecombe didn’t get a lot of touches and finished with just 10 points, but the Sixers’ leaders stepped up for them.
Just two games back from an emergency appendectomy, Joel Embiid led by example. The former league Most Valuable Player (MVP) and de facto captain of the Sixers was an unstoppable force in the paint, particularly in the second half to lead them to victory.
Embiid scored a game-high 33 points on 12-for-23 shooting from the field. All-star point guard Tyrese Maxey was effective as well, scoring 25 points on 10-for-18 shooting from the field. He was 3-for-10 from three-point range. Paul George added 16 points and Edgecombe dropped in 10.
The Celtics led for most of the game but fell apart in the all-important fourth quarter, missing their final 14 shots from the field. In total, they shot just 3-for-22 in the fourth quarter, going ice cold from the field. The Sixers outscored the Celtics 28-11 in the fourth quarter and actually 43-19 going back to the final three and a half minutes of the third quarter, turning an eight-point deficit into a resounding win.
Jayson Tatum had 24 points for the Celtics, shooting 8-for-19 from the field and 4-for-12 from three-point range. Jaylen Brown added 22 points but shot just 9-for-23 from the field and was 1-for-4 from three-point range. Payton Pritchard had 12 off the bench after scoring a game-high 32 on Sunday.
Overall, the Celtics were 11-for-39 from three-point range in the game, after converting a franchise playoff record 24 in game four in Philadelphia on Sunday. They also struggled at the free throw line, going 14-for-23. Philly, on the other hand, were 20-for-23 from the free throw line.
The Sixers were 15-for-42 from three-point range, beating the Celtics at their own game. The Celtics are the 2026 NBA playoffs leaders in made and attempted three-point shots per game.
As for Edgecombe, he had a respectable night, shooting 3-for-8 from field and 3-for-6 from three-point range. He ended an 0-for-11 drought from three-point range over the previous two games, connecting from deep at the 5:38 mark of the first quarter on Tuesday. His final three-point shot of the night gave the Sixers an insurmountable 109-94 lead with just 2:25 left on the clock, sealing the game five win for them.
The 20-year-old Bahamian added seven rebounds, three assists and a steal, and is now averaging 13.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.4 steals while shooting 40 percent from the field and 28.1 percent from long range in his first NBA postseason.
The Celtics had no answer for the Sixers late in the game on Tuesday night, and will now have to go on the road for game six, which is set for Thursday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
