2025-26 Sixers Bell Ringer season standings:
Tyrese Maxey – 22.5
VJ Edgecombe – 15
Joel Embiid – 11.5
Paul George – 8
Kelly Oubre Jr. – 5
Justin Edwards – 4
Andre Drummond – 3
Quentin Grimes – 3
Jared McCain :’( – 3
Dominick Barlow – 2
MarJon Beauchamp – 2
Adem Bona – 1
Porter Martone – 1
Cam Payne – 1
Jabari Walker – 1
Trendon Watford – 1
15th roster spot – 1
TD Garden might have been rocking for Game 1, but it was as silent as a library to close Game 2.
The first-round playoff series between the Philadelphia
76ers and the Boston Celtics is tied 1-1 after the Sixers pulled off a massive 111-97 victory over the hosting Celtics Tuesday night.
Though, for a moment, it looked like this one might have been over as quickly as Game 1 was, with the Sixers going on a scoring drought of over four and a half minutes in the first frame, allowing Boston a 16-0 run. To make matters worse, they were without Edgecombe briefly after the rookie took a hard fall onto his back going for a defensive rebound early in the game.
He returned to the game, thankfully, and went on an absolute tear in the second quarter. That’s where this one changed. The rookie poured in 16 points on stellar 6-for-9 field goal and 4-for-5 long range shooting in the second, leading the Sixers back within reaching grasp of the Celtics and even helping his squad to an eight-point halftime lead, their largest of the game.
The Sixers would never trail again in this one, though it did come close a few times. After an up and down third period within which Boston nearly pulled back even, Philadelphia tightened up a bit towards the end of the frame to carry a seven-point lead into the fourth. After what had been a bit of a quiet Tyrese Maxey performance through three quarters became all about the guard in the final period when he burst for 12 points, including timely triples to pull away from the Celtics for good.
This wasn’t just a win. This was a great win. The Sixers looked strategic and in control, not reactive and desperate the way they did in Game 1. Even when Philly would hit a cold spurt or would let Boston claw back in a bit, they simply rode the waves, tried to minimize the damage and punched back again. That’s how this is going to have to be if the Sixers want to keep battling this tough Celtics squad.
The Sixers bring a 1-1 series tie back home to South Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4, with Game 3 coming up at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday evening.
Until then, let’s get to the Bell Ringer.
VJ Edgecombe: 30 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
It was looking like VJ Edgecombe’s night might be cut very short when he headed to the locker room briefly in the first period after taking a hard fall going up for a defensive board. Thankfully, he was able to return to the game towards the end of that opening frame. And I mean thankfully, because the rookie went red hot from there.
After a two-bucket, four-point first from Edgecombe, he poured in 16 points in the second period. These weren’t gimmie plays, either. The rookie was using his active defense, rebounding, speed, footwork and smooth jumpers to help the Sixers claw back in to this one after they let Boston on a 16-0 run in the first. Edgecombe shot 6-for-9 from the floor and 4-for-5 from long range in a damn-near heroic second that saw the Sixers take an eight-point lead into the break.
After another brief exit to the locker room and some time on the stationary bike in the third frame, Edgecombe got right back to business again, battling for boards and sinking a timely triple just as the Celtics were back within three points. He ended up tacking on 10 points towards his total in the second half.
This kid is an absolute star in the making — maybe even a bit of a star already. Perhaps his regular season wasn’t always as flashy as Cooper Flagg’s or Kon Knueppel’s, but Edgecombe has proven time and time again that you can count on him in the clutch and that he’s ready to perform in some of the biggest moments this game has to offer. I’ll take that from a 20-year-old rookie any day of the week.
He finished the game with 30 points on 12-for-20 field goal and 6-for-10 long range shooting along with 10 rebounds (four offensive), two assists and two steals. He is the youngest player in NBA history to reach a 30-point, 10-rebound double-double in a playoff game.
Tyrese Maxey: 29 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals
It was an up and down night for Tyrese Maxey, with the peaks coming fortunately exactly when they were needed. It felt like the guard was deferring way too much, forcing passes that weren’t always there instead of just taking the shots he should have himself. It led to a quieter (by his standards) first three quarters of basketball, with Maxey putting up 17 points on 7-for-19 field goal shooting in that time.
Things changed quickly when Maxey had an extremely timely scoring burst in the fourth, sinking back-to-back triples. Those six points could not have come at a better time, with the Celtics clawing their way back within just two points of the Sixers with time winding down. The threes were the beginning of the end for Boston, with the Philly lead then expanding to nine points before surging into an insurmountable double-digit deficit they couldn’t come back from.
Maxey ended up with 12 points in a pivotal fourth quarter, including three triples. And he was feeling damn good about how he was closing this one out. Just look at this move, finish and reaction from him.
Gotta love playoff basketball.
Maxey finished the game with 29 points, shooting 5-for-12 from long range, with four rebounds, nine assists and two steals. It could be game-changing to have Maxey bring the aggression and attitude he closed Game 2 with back home to South Philadelphia for Game 3.
Paul George: 19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Paul George put forth quite a lackluster effort overall in Sunday’s Game 1, but tonight started off much smoother. George went to work in isolation early and hit two quick jumpers in the first few minutes of Game 2. From there, he looked damn solid on both ends of the floor all night minus one little stumble for a few possessions in the third.
This wasn’t a constant domination from PG, but he was ready to fill in the gaps when the Sixers really needed him to. It was a lot of smaller bursts, and they were extremely timely ones. Just when Philadelphia would go a little bit cold or the Celtics would go on a run, it seemed to frequently be George who would bury a bucket to calm the Boston crowd and get Philadelphia back on track. When he wasn’t doing that, he was commanding the offense and setting up other Sixers with solid shot opportunities, waiting for the Celtics’ defense to collapse in on him before kicking out to teammates.
All of that offensive contribution on top of his usual defensive talents went a long way in Game 2, even if it was seemingly in spurts spread throughout.
George finished the night with 19 points on 7-for-13 field goal and 2-for-5 long range shooting. He also had four rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block.
Kelly Oubre Jr.: 12 points, 5 rebounds
This is more of a shoutout than a true Bell Ringer contender, as the other guys’ contributions were just undoubtedly more impactful, but Kelly Oubre Jr. deserves some kudos for Game 2. It wasn’t perfect, but he helped when called upon.
After a quiet first half scoring just two points, Oubre had a little burst of scoring along with some solid defensive pressures that helped keep the Sixers going while Edgecombe was on the sideline and Maxey was still a bit too passive. Like George, Oubre’s contributions were incredibly timely, coming just when Philadelphia needed someone to fill the gap the most. He put up seven points in quick succession in that third period stint, possibly his most crucial buckets as they helped maintain and build on a lead the Celtics were desperately chipping away at. He added one more big bucket in the fourth, a triple with just four minutes remaining that extended the Sixers lead from 10 points to 13, completing an 11-0 run for Philly and pushing Boston to use a timeout to try to stop the bleeding. It didn’t work.
Oubre finished this one with 12 points on 5-for-10 field goal shooting (two triples) with five rebounds.
