Mar 11, 2026, 1:40 AM UTC
Come on, they weren’t going to lose the Cam Payne game.
The Sixers got back in the win column taking down the Memphis Grizzlies 139-129 Tuesday night. They are 35-30 now just a game out of the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.
VJ Edgecombe had 21 points in his return after missing the previous three games with a back contusion, shooting 7-of-15 from the floor along with five rebounds and five assists. Kelly Oubre Jr., like many of his teammates, couldn’t buy a three, but put up 31 points on 10-of-24 shooting while grabbing 12 rebounds.
Payne had not just his best night since returning to the NBA, but went for a career-high 32 points and 10 assists going 9-of-10 from the floor and a perfect 8-of-8 from three. Quentin Grimes also went for 22 while Ty Jerome led Memphis with 26.
The Sixers were without Tyrese Maxey (pinky tendon injury), Joel Embiid (oblique strain) and Paul George (suspension) while the Grizzlies were down seven players as is the minimum requirement to be the Memphis Grizzlies.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
* Nick Nurse said before the game that Edgecombe would get a lot of cracks as the primary ball-handler, but at the start that mostly looked like getting out of the way for Oubre. He was the only Sixer to make a field goal for the first five minutes of the game. Edgecombe was aggressive pushing the pace in the open floor early but did not look like he was operating at 100%.
* Despite Edgecombe trying to get up the floor a couple times the Sixers didn’t look like they were playing with a lot of energy. Memphis meanwhile came out of red hot, making six of their first nine shots from the floor, getting wide open off basic actions.
* Notably the Sixers went to a small lineup with Jabari Walker at the five when Adem Bona had to sit with foul trouble. They were able to shake off that start, slowly erasing the early double-digit deficit they found themselves in. Just like the night before, Grimes was able to get himself to the basket with decent success. He lost control on his final drive of the quarter, barely corralling it and throwing up a layup attempt that still almost fell. It didn’t though and the game stayed tied at 32.
* Both teams opened up the quarter sloppily, leading to a sequence of three turnovers over four possessions. After only making one three in the first, Payne quickly tripled that. He put up 14 in the quarter, also getting to the basket a couple of times.
* It was a good thing the offense had come alive since they weren’t able to generate stops. Bona struggled keeping the Grizzlies off the offensive glass, and couldn’t stay out of foul trouble either. His second shift quickly ended after he bit on a pump fake and picked up his third foul. On top of Payne’s surge Edgecombe started to look more like himself, highlighted by a big fast break dunk.
* It was good that the Sixers stayed small when Bona wasn’t on the floor — Memphis’ smaller lineup would have run them off the floor. They still gave up a 14-6 advantage in second-chance points, getting crushed on the glass despite sitting in a zone for most of the quarter. A drive to the basket from Cam Spencer put the Grizzlies up by three at the half.
* Grimes and Edgecombe have put up good contenders, but Dominick Barlow may have just had the Sixers’ best dunk of the season, running off a made basket the full length of the court and using that runway to jam over Cedric Coward. Despite the highlight, it was a classic Sixers third quarter start, with Jerome going wherever he wanted off the dribble.
* The lack of a true offensive engine did seem to catch up to the Sixers as well. They went over two and a half minutes without a field goal taking a lot of uninspired midrange shots. Trendon Watford picked up not one but two offensive fouls trying to back down defenders in the post. The second one even got upgraded to a flagrant on top of being Watford’s fourth of the evening.
* When Edgecombe hit a three earlier in the quarter, he became the only other starter than Oubre to make a three. He picked up a couple nice baskets off the dribble including a layup where he was just gliding towards the rim, but again the offense struggled because they were shooting 30% on threes. Edgecombe was able to intercept an outlet pass after another successful drive, but his heave just missed leaving the Sixers trailing by six after three.
* Payne finally missed his first field goal of the night, but the free throws and stepback three he hit to start the quarter allowed the Sixers to keep pace. He was routinely picking up full-court and trying to steal inbounds passes which kept the crowd in the game. He finally poked one of those steals free, leading to an Oubre and-1.
* Two more Sixers’ steals and two more fast break layups saw them cut the lead to one, but Edgecombe also picked up his fifth foul and ended up sitting the rest of the night. A pair of Grimes free throws put them ahead of the seesaw, and Payne capped off the run with yet another three.
* Shutting down guys like Coward and Jaylen Wells certainly helped, but for the first time all night the Sixers were getting stops. The Grizzlies went nearly six minutes only scoring two points and the Sixers used that to take their first double-digit lead of the night. Memphis had a couple baskets to threaten a comeback but the Sixers answered every time to put this one away. It was funny that once Jerome got T’d up, he looked to say “screw it” and just pick up a second technical to get a head start on the showers. The refs were more than happy to oblige.
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