76ers’ Tyrese Maxey ruthlessly loses Celtics benchwarmer with nasty ankle-breaker

Once again, VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey showed why they are one of the league’s best backcourt duos after carrying the Philadelphia 76ers past the Boston Celtics, 111-97, in Game 2 of their first-round series in the playoffs on Tuesday.

The 76ers silenced TD Garden and tied the best-of-seven matchup at 1-1.

Edgecombe had 30 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, and two steals, while Maxey added 29 points, four rebounds, nine assists, and two steals. They combined for more than half of Philadelphia’s 90 shot attempts.

Maxey put the icing on the cake, shaking off Max Shulga with a nasty ankle-breaker with one minute left in the game.

AND THE CHERRY ON TOP pic.twitter.com/H6iH9VpRA1

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) April 22, 2026

The Sixers survived the Celtics without Joel Embiid, who is still recovering from an emergency appendectomy. Embiid also sat out Game 1.

Boston threatened to rally in the fourth quarter, but Philadelphia went on an 11-0 run in the last four minutes to put out the fire.

The 76ers went 47.8% from the field, including 19-of-39 from beyond the arc. They scored 15 points off the Celtics’ 13 turnovers, which proved to be critical in the tight affair.

In the postgame interview, the 25-year-old Maxey pointed out the major improvements in their performance in Game 2.

“This is who we are. That Game 1, that’s not who we are. We just didn’t play good, we missed shots, we let our offense dictate our defense, and we didn’t do those tonight,” said Maxey.

"This is who we are."

Tyrese Maxey (29 PTS) & VJ Edgecombe (30 PTS) sound off after winning Game 2 on the road to tie the series at 1-1!

Game 3: Friday, 7pm/et on Prime pic.twitter.com/vCTYeM1b3R

— NBA (@NBA) April 22, 2026

As long as Embiid is sidelined, Maxey and Edgecombe will continue to carry the cudgels for the 76ers and go toe to toe with the Celtics’ star tandem of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.

Game 3 is at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday.

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