VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey combined to make 11 3-pointers and score 59 total points as the Philadelphia 76ers bounced back to even their Eastern Conference playoff series with the host Boston Celtics in a 111-97 decision on Tuesday.
Seventh-seeded Philadelphia shook off a dismal Game 1 performance, which included making just four 3-pointers in Sunday’s 123-91 loss, with a complete reversal on the offensive end. The 76ers will host Game 3 on Friday.
The Sixers shot a torrid 19 of 39 (48.7%) from beyond the arc in Game 2, with Quentin Grimes, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Paul George each adding a pair of triples to supplement Edgecombe and Maxey.
Grimes and George were key to Philadelphia surging in the middle quarters. Grimes knocked down the second of his two 3-pointers off the bench to ignite a 13-4 run in the second period, which gave the Sixers the lead after trailing by as many as 13 late in the first quarter.
George scored the first five points of the second half as Philadelphia stormed out of intermission with a 7-2 spurt that pushed the advantage to 13, giving the Sixers a cushion to weather Boston’s comeback efforts.
“In the second quarter, we gave up a free-throw (offensive) rebound,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “We gave up two catch-and-shoot 3-pointers to Grimes. When he makes shots, they’re a different team.”
Philadelphia being a different team from Sunday’s debacle was a theme that Edgecombe also noted in his postgame media availability.
“This is who we are. Game 1 isn’t who we are,” Edgecombe said in his interview with Peacock. “We let our offense dictate our defense (on Sunday), and we didn’t do that tonight.”
The rookie Edgecombe finished 12 of 20 from the floor, including 6 of 10 from beyond the arc, and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
Maxey, meanwhile, knocked down back-to-back critical 3-pointers in the fourth quarter after Boston cut the deficit to two. The pair of triples jump-started an 11-0 run that put the game away.
“He just wanted them,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said of Maxey’s decisive shot attempts. “He looked at me for a play call, and I looked at him and called it. He was like, ‘Nah, I got it.'”
Maxey capped his 29-point effort with an exclamation-mark 3-pointer with 69 seconds remaining. After his stepback attempt went down, Maxey flexed toward a stunned Boston crowd.
With their offense clicking, the Sixers defense carried over to limit the Celtics to 35 of 89 (39.3%) from the floor. Philadelphia’s game plan focused on shutting down the rest of the lineup around stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
Brown went for a game-high 36 points and Tatum finished with 19 points to go with his game-high 14 rebounds. No other Celtic reached double-figures scoring, however, a stark contrast from Game 1 when the entire Boston starting five notched at least 10 points.
While Brown shot 5 of 12 from long distance, Boston’s other shooters combined to go just 8 of 38.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, got 19 points from George and 12 from Oubre. After foul trouble limited him in Game 1, Andre Drummond came off the bench to provide quality minutes on the interior with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Bulls coach Donovan steps down
Billy Donovan is stepping down as head coach of the Chicago Bulls after six seasons, the NBA team said on Tuesday.
Donovan announced his decision just over a week after the team closed out a 31-51 season that saw them miss the playoffs for a fourth consecutive year.
“I believe it is in the best interest of the Bulls, to allow the new leader to build out the staff as they see fit,” Donovan said in a statement.
The Bulls fired executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley on April 6. The next day, CEO Michael Reinsdorf said he wanted Donovan to remain as head coach.
“While we clearly wanted Billy to return as our head coach, we had open dialogue about the importance of respecting the process of bringing in new Basketball Operations leadership,” Reinsdorf said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Together, we mutually agreed that giving that person the freedom to shape the organization was the best approach for everyone involved.”
Donovan, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last year, has spent the past 11 seasons as a head coach in the NBA, including five seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Bulls posted a 226-256 record under Donovan. He led the franchise to one playoff appearance in 2022 when they lost in the first round.
Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf said the team is “deeply grateful for everything (Donovan) has given to this organization.”
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: NBA roundup features 76ers’ win over Celtics, Bulls coach steps down