Sixers takeaways: A statement win, VJ Edgecombe’s third-quarter dominance and more from win over Knicks

NEW YORK — The 76ers showed that they can still beat teams with winning records.

VJ Edgecombe continues to take over in the third quarter.

And Jared McCain is back to feeling healthy.

Those things stood out in Friday’s 116-107 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

The Sixers (15-11) have played hard in most of their games, with several of those contests having exciting finishes. But the fact remained that they were 4-10 against teams with winning records.

So this matchup against the Eastern Conference’s second-place Knicks (19-8) was a chance for the Sixers to make a statement.

Mission accomplished.

» READ MORE: Maxey, Edgecombe help the 76ers hand the Knicks their second home loss of the season

Before Friday, their only victories against teams with winning records came against the Boston Celtics (on Oct. 22 and Nov. 11), the Orlando Magic (Oct. 27), and the Toronto Raptors (Nov. 8). And this victory snapped their five-game losing streak against winning teams.

The Sixers tried to downplay this victory, saying it wasn’t a statement win.

“No, I think it’s just another one, to be honest,” Tyrese Maxey said. “Obviously, it’s a really good team, but it’s just another win. We have a long way to go. We have to keep getting better and get onto the next game, which is tomorrow.”

But beating the Knicks has to be a confidence boost, considering their recent results against winning teams, right?

“It’s definitely good to get the win, especially a team in the East,” Maxey said. “We got a game tomorrow. You know, it’s the NBA, so we got to try to win against them tomorrow.”

The Sixers will entertain the Dallas Mavericks at 7 p.m. Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Against the Knicks, the Sixers played hard and kept things competitive throughout, as expected. But down the stretch, they made the clutch plays that winning teams have usually completed against them.

“Yeah, this is something we talked about, you know, finishing games and not allowing it to slip down the stretch of the game, coming out slow in those third quarters,” Andre Drummond said. “So, I think for us, we’re starting to turn it around a little bit, little by little. So, we’ll take the small victories and progress that we’re making and continue to build on it.”

They took an 88-87 lead into the fourth quarter after Adem Bona split a pair of foul shots. Then Maxey’s three-pointer gave them a 97-92 advantage with 8 minutes, 4 seconds remaining. Then, Edgecombe’s three-pointer with 2:44 left made it a 108-102 game. And Maxey hit another three-pointer with 47.9 seconds left to extend the Sixers’ lead to nine points.

The standout point guard showed why he’s worthy of being voted an Eastern Conference All-Star starter by outplaying the Knicks’ All-Star point guard, Jalen Brunson.

With Edgecombe guarding him, Brunson was held to six points on 1-for-10 shooting in the second half.

“He’s a tough player,” Edgecombe said. “Everyone knows he’s super good. I just try to make it difficult. You’re not going to hold him scoreless, but just try to make it difficult. I was just trying my hardest to make sure he didn’t get off any clean looks or anything like that.”

In addition to shutting down Brunson, Edgecombe had 23 points, four assists, two steals, and a block.

Drummond showed his shooting range while starting at center in place of Joel Embiid, who had the night off. Drummond made a career-high three three-pointers while finishing with 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. It was his 10th double-double of the season.

This was the second consecutive game where Edgecombe dominated in the third quarter. The shooting guard scored 11 of Friday’s points on 5-for-6 shooting, including hitting a three-pointer, in the quarter.

This comes after Edgecombe scored 17 of his 26 points in the third quarter of Sunday’s 120-117 loss. On that night, he made 5 of 7 shots, including all three of his three-pointers, in the quarter. Like on Sunday, Edgecombe played the entire third quarter.

His ability to take over enabled the Sixers to snap out of their third-quarter blues.

» READ MORE: https://www.inquirer.com/sixers/sixers-joel-embiid-injury-update-knee-surgery-20251219.html

“I have to be more aggressive in that quarter,” Edgecombe said. “It’s not just that whole quarter, it’s the whole game. I know myself. I tend to be slow in the third quarter. We are trying to get over that hump where we start to slow in the third. If that takes me scoring, I’ll do that.”

He added seven points on 3-for-4 shooting in the fourth quarter. But the third quarter got him going and kept the Sixers in the game.

“We talk about the third quarters a lot,” McCain said. “It’s something that we’re trying to obviously get better at, and when he’s aggressive like that, especially in the third, that’s what we need. So, he was perfect, and he’s been doing great with the thirds.”

McCain can just focus on hoops.

Friday marked his second game playing without a brace on his right thumb since returning from September’s surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament.

“Thank God for that,” McCain said. “So now, I guess that’s pretty much the last thing, now. Just being able to get back in rhythm without a brace and without the tape around it. So last game was the first time we just tried it, and now it’s just getting used to it.”

» READ MORE: Jared McCain opens up about protecting his mental health with students at Level Up Philly: ‘It humbles you’

The second-year combo guard went scoreless on 0-for-5 in Sunday’s 120-117 road loss to the Atlanta Hawks. However, he tied season highs with five assists and two steals. On Friday, McCain finished with 12 points, three rebounds, and one assist. He hit several big shots and closed out the game for the Sixers.

McCain was also still working his way back from last season’s left-knee injury.

The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder missed the final 4½ months of last season with a torn meniscus. McCain suffered the injury on Dec. 13 during a home loss to the Indiana Pacers. He said Friday morning that he’s confident in the knee.

“I think I’m back,” he said. “I mean, I think I’m fully to where I need to be. I think most of it now is just being able to know when I’m coming in and being warm and being ready to come in, because the knee will get stiff if I don’t keep it warm.

“So, kind of just when I go back to warm up, I try and get ready, but sometimes it goes longer, and so I have to keep staying warm, keep doing jumping, or whatever I’m doing to get warm.”