Tyrese Maxey battles, VJ Edgecombe’s learning moment, and what we learned from the Sixers’ 108-100 loss in Game 3

Was it happening? The 76ers, who looked like they had no chance against the Boston Celtics after Game 1, suddenly had a real shot at winning a critical Game 3 and taking a lead of two games to one at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday.

Tyrese Maxey pulled around a screen, knocked down another critical three-pointer, and snarled as the ball fell through the net and his team took an 85-84 lead with 8 minutes, 42 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

Then things began to unravel, culminating in a 108-100 Sixers loss.

Maxey’s magic wore off, VJ Edgecombe airballed a clean look from three, Paul George clanked a prayer at the end of the shot clock. And the hits kept coming from there.

There was a glimmer of hope as George stepped into the driver’s seat and put on a 1990s basketball clinic, going alone in isolation or screen-and-roll with Andre Drummond for multiple rim-rocking jams from the big man.

But the Celtics wouldn’t be denied. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum answered, and Payton Pritchard delivered the back-breaker from three on a broken play.

Kelly Oubre Jr.’s two free throws extended the Sixers’ hopes. Those were squashed by another Tatum three-pointer with 25.3 seconds left over Adem Bona’s outstretched hand.

And to think, the only knock on Tyrese Maxey in the 2020 NBA draft was his outside shot. It’s been invoked before — and it certainly will be again — but Maxey entered the NBA as an undersized guard whose shooting credibilities were called into question after one season at Kentucky, during which he learned to play off the ball for the first time in his life.

Well, it was fitting that he put on a shooting display with that same coach, John Calipari, sitting courtside. Maxey went on several solo runs where he torched the Celtics and their decision to remain in drop coverage, a strategy where the big man hangs back in the lane rather than crowd the ball-handler coming off a screen.

He scored 31 points — including shooting 5-of-13 from the three-point line — and added four rebounds and six assists.

Unfortunately for the Sixers, on this night, he couldn’t save them.

Edgecombe was having a tough shooting night, to put it lightly. But when he caught the ball in the corner in the third quarter and passed up a point-blank look, every member of the Sixers stood up in displeasure. Sixers fans reacted similarly, screaming for Edgecombe to shoot. For his part, Edgecombe raised his hand to the Sixers bench to apologize.

It was a learning moment for the Sixers rookie, a reminder that stars don’t get a night off. Sure, Friday wasn’t his night from the field, but to retreat and shrink in the moment was not an option. All of Philly made that clear to Edgecombe. So when the ball swung back around, he didn’t hesitate before taking the same open look from the corner he passed up moments before. And while it clanked off the rim, that wasn’t the point. And he knew that now.

That didn’t stop Edgecombe from having a tough night. He finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. He also made critical mistakes late, including drawing travel and goaltending calls as the Sixers battled back.

Edgecombe shot 5-for-17 from the field and 0-of-7 from three-point distance. He bounced back from a bad shooting night in Game 1, so the rookie’s mettle will be tested here soon.

The Sixers played better on both sides of the basketball in their Game 2 victory, but it was the defense that anchored their performance. Of course, Maxey and Edgecombe combined to score 59 points and had an answer for every Celtics run, but that alone doesn’t create a 111-97 difference. Stops from Edgecombe, Drummond, George, and Oubre forced Boston to shoot 13-for-50 from the three-point line.

On Friday, while the Sixers had the same effort, the on-ball defense wasn’t quite as crisp, and their rotations weren’t on a string as they had been two nights earlier. That was partially responsible for the Celtics’ improved shooting and the reemergence of secondary scorers like Pritchard and Derrick White, who helped buoy their team as Tatum fought through another up-and-dwon shooting night. Pritchard, White, and Nikola Vučević’s 37 points played a big factor.

Of course, that changed in the second half. Tatum scorched the Sixers to close the game and finally produced a signature performance in this series after playing second fiddle to Brown. He answered every Sixers run late and produced 25 points, with none bigger than his final three-pointer. Brown added 25 as well.