Winners and Losers From Sixers' Game 2 Win vs. Celtics

Fresh off a 32-point beatdown on Sunday, the Sixers entered Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics as double-digit underdogs. With Joel Embiid still sidelined, the Sixers briefly fell into a 13-point hole late in the first quarter and seemed headed for another blowout loss, particularly with star rookie VJ Edgecombe banged up.

But the Sixers held serve until Edgecombe returned, and he, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George took care of the rest. After going into the fourth quarter with a seven-point lead, the Sixers let the Celtics get within two points before putting the game away with a barrage of Maxey threes and Edgecombe heroics.

Before we turn the page to Game 3 on Friday, let's look back on the biggest winners and losers from the Sixers' shocking 111-97 victory over the Celtics in Game 2.

Winner: The Sixers' backcourt

Business is booming so much at VJ Maxx that not even private equity could ruin it.

According to Mike Lynch of Sports Reference, Edgecombe became the youngest player in NBA history to have at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in a playoff game. He's one of only eight rookies ever to do so in the three-point era, per Zach Kram of The Ringer.

Meanwhile, Maxey hasn't looked quite right since returning from his finger injury late in the season. That sure didn't stop him from drilling two dagger threes midway through the fourth quarter as the Celtics were threatening to take the lead after being behind for the entire second half.

& again! https://t.co/ns5KiOlxq3 pic.twitter.com/vAtxCDDZ8t
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 22, 2026

Maxey finished with 29 points on 11-of-28 shooting, nine assists and four rebounds. He and Edgecombe combined for more points (59) than the rest of the team scored combined (52).

Loser: Adem Bona

Despite finishing with only three points, three rebounds and three fouls in 14 minutes, Adem Bona drew another start in place of Embiid in Game 2. While he wasn't quite as much of a space cadet as he was in Game 1, he still had a few major brainfarts Tuesday, including a blown transition layup early in the fourth quarter with the Sixers only up seven.

Andre Drummond, who played 26 minutes off the bench, had 10 points, eight rebounds and two assists. There are trade-offs with him as well—namely, that his drop defense allows the Celtics to generate wide-open threes—but this is the second straight game that he's been more effective than Bona on the whole.

Even if Nick Nurse doesn't change his starting lineup for Game 3, it's clear that Bona is on a short leash. And if Embiid is able to return at some point this series, Bona seems like the center whose spot in the rotation is most in danger.

Winner: Justin Edwards

Justin Edwards came into the season looking like a potentially key bench player. He never quite found a rhythm, though, and played sparingly for most of the year.

However, he's made his impact felt in this series. He hauled in six rebounds in only 17 minutes in Game 1, and he finished with five points, four rebounds, one assist, one block and one made three in 22 minutes on Tuesday.

The Sixers don't need Edwards to be a volume scorer, although anything he provides in that department is an added bonus. His value to them is spacing the floor on offense, hitting the glass and giving them another wing defender behind George and Kelly Oubre Jr.

Edwards is under contract for only $2.4 million next season, and the Sixers have a $2.6 million team option on him in 2027-28. This series is going a long way toward justifying his spot on the roster next year after a relatively disappointing regular season.

Loser: Derrick White

During his first three seasons in Boston, Derrick White was a 38.7% three-point shooter. This year, he barely shot that well from the floor overall (39.4%), and he plummeted to a below-average 32.7% from deep despite hoisting eight-plus attempts per game.

It's been the same story for White thus far this series. He shot 4-of-10 overall and 2-of-7 from deep in Game 1, and he was a miserable 3-of-12 overall and 2-of-10 from three-point range in Game 2. A few of those were wide-open bricks, too.

Unless White is dealing with an undisclosed injury that's affecting his shooting ability, the Sixers won't keep getting away with defensive breakdowns that leave him unguarded. He's bound to have a 6-of-9 outing from distance at some point in this series.

But until White can start making the Sixers pay for leaving him open, they figure to still devote more defensive attention to stopping Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum while daring the rest of the Celtics to beat them.

Winner: Kelly Oubre Jr.

Kelly Oubre Jr. seemed like he was headed for a slow night when he had only two points on 1-of-4 shooting, two rebounds and two fouls across 14 minutes in the first half on Tuesday. He then erupted for seven points on 3-of-5 shooting and three rebounds in the third quarter alone, helping the Sixers maintain the lead despite a tough quarter from Maxey (two points on 1-of-5 shooting).

Oubre went 0-of-5 from deep in Game 1, as the Celtics basically dared him to beat them from deep. He was 2-of-6 from distance in Game 2, which helped the Sixers win the math battle that torched them on Sunday. They finished 19-of-39 from three-point range, while the Celtics were a dismal 13-of-50.

Oubre rarely explodes for 30-plus points, but he's been a steadying presence for the Sixers for the past two years. He's basically become what the Sixers wanted Tobias Harris to be, albeit at one-fifth of the price. (And unlike Harris, he occasionally draws charges, too!)

Oubre is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. The Sixers have full Bird rights on him, so they can offer him anything up to a max contract despite being over the salary cap, but they might face some real competition for his services if he keeps being a solid two-way presence in this series.

Loser: Quentin Grimes

Remember when Quentin Grimes was asking for $25 million per year this past offseason? About that.

Through two games of this series, Grimes has 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting, seven rebounds, three assists and one block. Total. He's playing only 23.0 minutes per game off the bench.

Grimes is 3-of-5 from deep thus far—his only two makes in Game 2 were both from downtown—but he's done nothing to demonstrate he's the caliber of player who deserves that kind of a payday. That's an issue for him as he prepares for unrestricted free agency this offseason.

If Grimes can help the Sixers win at least one of the next two games at home with a big performance off the bench, perhaps that'll help pique interest in him ahead of free agency. Otherwise, he might be lucky to get more than even the $15.0 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

Winner: Sixers fans

Let's be honest: The past two years have featured far more downs than ups for Sixers fans.

Sure, Maxey's transformation into an All-NBA player this season was a pleasant surprise, and Edgecombe has been a delight all year. But otherwise, it's mostly been daily questions about whether Embiid and George are playing, along with more than a handful of head-scratching losses.

That made Game 2 even more enjoyable.

No one outside of the Sixers' locker room expected them to win that game. Most fans were just hoping that they wouldn't get embarrassed again. Pulling off that type of shooting performance against that team in particular, with Maxey and Edgecombe leading the way, had the entire Philadelphia region levitating on Tuesday night.

The Celtics are still heavily favored to win the series. They figure to come into Philly on Friday night far more focused. But at least for one night, the Sixers got the best of their hated rivals.

For Sixers fans who've been thirsting for brief pockets of joy over the last two years, Game 2 was like manna from heaven.

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on X and Bluesky for the latest news.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

Follow Bryan on Bluesky.

Add us as a preferred source on Google