Don’t look now, but they’ve won three of their last four!
The Sixers blew out the Sacramento Kings 139-118 Thursday night.
They are 38-32, a big win given big losses by the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat earlier in the night.
Reaching 30 points for the first time since his NBA debut, VJ Edgecombe cruised past that to put up a career-high 38 points and 11 assists, shooting 16-of-27 from the floor. It’s the most a Sixer has put up as a rookie [since Tyrese Maxey](https://x.com/SixersAdam/status/2009627666350297543?s=20). Justin Edwards went for a career-high as well, finishing with 32 points going 11-of-18 from the floor and 7-of-11 from three.
Quentin Grimes dished out seven assists as well while putting up 27 points on 10-of-20 shooting. Maxime Raynauld led the Kings with 30.
Joel Embiid was originally listed as doubtful for this one and was eventually ruled out for his 11th straight game with an oblique strain. Tyrese Maxey (finger sprain), Paul George (suspension), Kelly Oubre Jr. (elbow strain) and Johni Broome (meniscus tear) remained out.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
* Neither team put the clamps on early, but no one took better advantage than Edwards, who made five of his first six shots of the night. He came out gunning from behind the arc, and was about the only player to meet the resistance at the rim on a drive but hit a nice spin move to get around it.
* Of course Sacramento started just as well offensively. They made nine of their first 11 field goals just like the Sixers. Rather than just getting right to the basket their drives resulted in wide open dump-offs for both of their bigs.
* Edgecombe and Grimes each helped the Sixers spread the ball around as the team went for 10 assists in the quarter. The flashiest assist though went to Edgecombe on a big alley oop in transition. He nailed a pull-up jumper to tie the team’s highest scoring quarter this year at 45 and give the Sixers a 12-point lead.
* The mostly bench unit had a very rough go of it to kick off the second, giving up that lead entirely early in the quarter. The offense went ice cold while the zone they sat in as a result of a Cam Payne-Kyle Lowry backcourt got beat by three after three.
* The offensive struggles became team wide, as their start from the field in the second got as bad as 1-of-15. They were frankly lucky the Kings weren’t able to punish them more in this stretch. Nearly every player on the court took place in a sequence like this.
* Edgecombe hitting a couple fadeaway jumpers by the block gave the Sixers some sense of stability. Grimes got under control with his drives, hitting a couple slick finishes before nailing a much-needed three off the catch. Adem Bona was able to complete one of those solo fast breaks for a dunk and a putback a few possessions later, helping the Sixers get back up nine at the break.
* Grimes and Edwards remaining consistent only buoyed the Sixers to start the half. Raynaud was an imposing force all night. Bona tried his best pushing him around but he needed every bit of strength to match the height disadvantage.
* Even after throwing a very errant lob pass, it was shaking out as a very solid night for Edgecombe as the primary ball handler again. His go-to shots, especially the little fadeaway, routinely got the Sixers out of ruts.
* Edgecombe had seven assists to this point as well, and perhaps his best read of the night hadn’t fallen on a skip pass to MarJon Beauchamp for a corner three attempt. A simple bounce pass from him was enough to hit Andre Drummond for his third three of the night as the Sixers lead jumped up to their largest of the night at 18.
* Edwards’ performance had understandably become overshadowed, but a couple of three-point plays got him quickly back on track. Not only did burying a three set his new career-high, but it set Edgecombe’s career-high in assists. For the starters at least, it was just one of those nights offensively.
* This team was really in no position to nitpick — they needed an easy win no matter who the opponent. This was their first win by 11 points or more in nearly a month, back on Feb. 22 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.