Tyrese Maxey scored 40 points and VJ Edgecombe added 34 in his NBA debut to lift the Philadelphia 76ers to a 117-116 victory over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night at TD Garden.
Edgecombe’s 34 points marked the highest scoring NBA debut since Wilt Chamberlain had 43 on October 24, 1959. Maxey and Edgecombe combined for 74 points, giving the Sixers a strong offensive punch in the season opener.
Philadelphia led by four with 22 seconds left, but the lead shrank to one after Edgecombe missed two free throws with 9.1 seconds remaining. Payton Pritchard had two attempts to win the game for Boston but missed both.
Joel Embiid returned for the first time since February, scoring four points on 1-of-9 shooting in 20 minutes. The 2023 NBA MVP, limited to 19 games last season due to multiple injuries, also grabbed six rebounds.
Jaylen Brown scored 25 points after returning from a hamstring injury, while Jayson Tatum remained sidelined recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon. Derrick White scored 13 of his 25 points in the third quarter as the Celtics briefly took an 11-point lead.
The Sixers responded with an eight-point run to make the game close in the final minutes. Maxey’s late scoring and defensive plays helped Philadelphia maintain the narrow advantage down the stretch.
Edgecombe finished 13-of-26 from the field with five three-pointers, while Maxey shot 13-of-24 including seven from three-point range. Philadelphia shot 45.9% overall and 40% from beyond the arc.
Boston struggled from three-point range at 25.6% and saw its 16-point third-quarter run reversed by Philadelphia’s late rally. Brown and White provided the primary scoring, with contributions from Pritchard, but the Celtics fell just short in the opener.
The win gives the 76ers momentum as they host the Charlotte Magic on Saturday, while the Celtics travel to New York to face the Knicks on Friday. Philadelphia’s backcourt duo of Maxey and Edgecombe made an immediate impact, setting the tone for the season.
