Six Thoughts: Edgecombe, Maxey Punch Back as Sixers Win Game 2 in Boston

V.J. Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey combined for 59 points to power the Sixers to a gutsy Game 2 victory over the Boston Celtics, evening the series as the first round matchup shifts to Philadelphia.

Here are six thoughts on the win.

An absolute stunner from Edgecombe

All of Philadelphia's hope appeared lost when Edgecombe took a hard fall amid an extensive Boston run. He limped off the court and to the locker room as Boston's lead seemingly multiplied with each and every shot. But with credit to Maxey, Paul George and Quentin Grimes, the Sixers kept themselves in the game as their prized rookie received attention.

It set up a stunning return from the locker room, Edgecombe taking over TD Garden in the second quarter. He scored 16 points in the frame, getting to his beloved mid-range jumper off the dribble, lacing up catch-and-shoot 3s all over the floor and gliding to the rim.

Perhaps as impressive as anything was that Boston sold out entirely on him as a shooter, daring the rookie to punish them for leaving him alone. He was not perturbed or rushed. He did not doubt himself. Edgecombe simply treated them as practice shots, putting down four 3s in the first half.

His lack of fear on offense was, frankly, heroic. He bailed Kelly Oubre and Adem Bona out of respective brutal first halves.

In fact, I'd take it a step further. Edgecombe may never have a bigger test in his rookie season than this game, and he was an apex predator. He had it a bit easier than his featured teammates in Maxey and George did, since Boston often ignored him to make sure the more established Sixers didn't get free. But Edgecombe answered the moment. It was a show of guts, and one that should inspire Sixers fans as they evaluate Philadephia's future—regardless of Joel Embiid and George.

Drummond can't find the balance

Obviously, Nick Nurse is choosing between two flawed options when he weighs rolling out Bona or Andre Drummond. But, aside from screen-setting in this game, there was very little value coming from Drummond. You have to deploy Drummond as a drop big, and that's exactly what Boston wants you to do so that they can get to the pull-up 3.

If you're going to live with his giving up the 3 out of the ball screen, Drummond needs to be absolutely perfect rebounding the ball, and he wasn't even close on the glass for most of the night.

If you're not getting that balancing act, you might as well live with someone like Dominick Barlow playing more minutes because at least he can guard in space and play up to the level of the screen. Sure, you're conceding the glass, but beggars can't be choosers. You have to live with something, and the Celtics walking into open 3s can't be the 'something'.

Quentin Grimes steps up

Grimes does not often get much attention in this space, mostly because his season has been largely uninspiring. But when Edgecombe went down with the hard foul, Grimes was the next man up. And his first touch of the game was a disaster, Grimes having a driving lane to the basket and not getting enough touch on the ball to convert the layup. But Grimes responded to the chaos with a pair of huge 3s as the Sixers made their run back into the game late in the first quarter and early in the second quarter.

Third quarters to forget

If for only one quarter, Philadelphia got a taste of what gave George the "Playoff P" reputation. George drained a 3 off a ball screen to give the Sixers a double-digit lead early in the third quarter and later wiggled his way to the basket for a score at the rim. What then proceeded was a pair of airballed catch-and-shoot 3s on quality looks, a bricked mid-range jumper over a solid contest and a live-ball turnover passing to no one in transition that led to a Celtics fast break and free throws.

Maxey was not much better. He could not find the shooting touch to punish Boston's drop coverage out of ball screens with pull-up 3s and he got walled off at the rim several times on drives.

Philadelphia is not used to a rookie being supremely confident in his jump shot in a playoff environment. But Edgecombe is neither your typical rookie nor your typical Sixers rookie. He saved both his veteran teammates' bacon, lacing a pull-up 3 to beat a botched Boston coverage and scoring a pair of baskets around the paint to anchor the offense in a lineup that had neither Maxey or George to support him.

The one thing Bona did well

Three rebounds in 21-and-a-half minutes for your starting big. A one-man show in transition that ended in a missed layup rather than a dunk with the Sixers up seven early in the fourth quarter. An absolutely dreadful night from Bona. But he did to one thing very well in the fourth quarter.

Bona was perfectly physical wrestling with Neemias Queta when the Celtics had the ball in the fourth quarter. A lot of the wrestling occurred away from the ball, Bona fighting to deny Queta the ability to screen for his teammates. As a result, the Sixers were able to chew away at Boston's shot clock because Queta wasn't able to quickly get into position to initiate the action. It was a significant reason the Sixers were able to hold the Celtics' possessions toward the end of the shot clock and make time a part of their defense.

Kudos to the coaching staff

A Boston possession with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter was perhaps the best indicator of how well prepared the Sixers were for this game. The Celtics came out with a Spain pick-and-roll, which would've set Queta up for a lob at the rim or Jaylen Brown for a 3 at the top of the key. Philadelphia snuffed it out, positioning Edgecombe perfectly on the back side of the action. He read the pass to Queta and blew up the play for a steal.

The Sixers' defense in this game was still much better than their offense was. They did not have much creativity on that end of the floor, although they at least sought to punish Boston's bigs because they, too, were in drop coverage. The Sixers also made a point to attack weak-link defenders like Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard in isolation. But the defense was physical and attentive. They were well prepared and responded to an embarrassing Game 1 for their best win of the season.

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