BOSTON -- The Philadelphia 76ers walked out of TD Garden on Tuesday night with an impressive 111-97 win over the Boston Celtics to even their Round 1 series at 1-1. Following a blowout loss in Game 1 on Sunday, the Sixers regrouped and were able to steal home court advantage with this win in Game 2 before things shift to Philadelphia.
VJ Edgecombe had 30 points and 10 rebounds for the Sixers while Tyrese Maxey had 29 points and nine assists. Paul George added 19 points, Andre Drummond had 10 points and eight rebounds, and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 12 points and five rebounds.
Seriously. What more can this young man do? The 20-year-old rookie once again walked into TD Garden and made history. The No. 3 overall pick became the first rookie to record 30 points and 10 rebounds in a playoff game since the great Tim Duncan in 1998. He just has a knack for shaking off any struggles in the middle of a game or in the previous outing and just knows how to attack the next one. There is so much to like about his attitude toward winning every day and he was impressive in a number of ways in this one. He shot 6-for-10 from deep after going 0-for-5 in Game 1.
"I think he got to some good spots the other night, right?" said coach Nick Nurse. "He kind of spots that he normally kind of gets to, and I think it was just a matter of him realizing like, 'OK, there are gonna be some spots for me to get to, and some shots are going to be there, and I got to take them.' And obviously, you know, a big difference, you get to the spot and vault up there and start making some. It just kind of boosts everybody’s confidence, I think."
The Celtics jumped out to a 26-13 lead in the first quarter as they were flying around early, knocking down 3s, and making life miserable for Philadelphia in the opening minutes. It was one of those early punches that made it feel like this was going to be another long night for the Sixers. Instead, Philadelphia locked in on the defensive end and held Boston to just 13-for-50 shooting on 3-pointers and 39.3% from the floor overall. It was one of those performances that the Sixers can hang their hat on now as this series shifts to the City of Brotherly Love.
"I thought, man, they just made tough shots," said Paul George of Boston's fast start. "We were playing good defense. They were making tough shots. They were making contested shots, and it was shots that we were willing to give up, and they were shooting it well. I think the biggest thing was we were locked in. We were moving. We were flying around. We were helping one another, and we could sustain that over a game, and I thought it wore on them a little bit that we were there and we were contesting shots, and we wasn't making it easy, but they came out hot. We didn't lay down. We stayed with it. We didn't put our heads down. We just hung in there."
Paul George on the difference defensively after the Celtics went up 13 early: “I thought, man, they just made tough shots. We were playing good defense. They were making tough shots.” #Sixers pic.twitter.com/rs9R57riTo
Edgecombe made sure the Sixers were in a great position to steal Game 2, but it was Maxey who made sure the Celtics stayed in the coffin on Tuesday. After Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown knocked down consecutive shots to pull Boston to within 91-89 with 6:25 left, Maxey drilled back-to-back 3s to put Philadelphia back up eight. He then found Oubre in the corner for 3 and then finished an acrobatic And-1 inside to send the TD Garden faithful to the exits. He finished with 12 points in the fourth to ensure a Philadelphia win.
"I think you know when someone's in that zone," Edgecombe said of Maxey. "Like that look in his eye. I think you know when someone's in that zone. Especially, when they keep coming back for the ball. I ain't gonna lie, if you see someone come back for the ball and they just made a shot or two, you know what I'm saying? Let him rock out. We know he's a shot maker. He's an elite shot maker. He can create in pick and roll, ISO, whatever. He took over at the end just to put the game away. Even just making plays. He got an assist to Kelly in that corner, which was a big shot for us. So, yeah, man. He's elite."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: 3 biggest takeaways for Sixers following big Game 2 win over Celtics