BOSTON — Sixers rookie VJ Edgecombe wasted no time making his mark within the NBA, scoring 34 factors in his debut to assist Philadelphia rally to beat the Boston Celtics 117-116 of their season opener Wednesday evening.
Edgecombe scored essentially the most factors in an NBA debut since Wilt Chamberlain had 43 on Oct. 24, 1959, and the third most in a debut all time. He additionally set the franchise scoring report in a debut, breaking Allen Iverson’s mark of 30.
The rookie managed to face out on an evening teammate Tyrese Maxey scored a game-high 40 factors. The 74 mixed factors by Edgecombe and Maxey have been tied for the second most by a duo in a season opener in NBA historical past, trailing solely James Harden and Christian Wooden’s 75 factors in 2020.
Philadelphia led by 4 with 22 seconds left, however it was down to at least one when Edgecombe missed a pair of foul pictures with 9.1 seconds to play. Payton Pritchard had two pictures for the winner and missed each.
Joel Embiid performed for the primary time since February, scoring 4 factors on 1-of-9 taking pictures. The 2023 NBA MVP and a two-time league scoring champion had six rebounds in 20 minutes as he returns after a 2024-25 season when he was restricted to 19 video games due to a sprained left foot, a sinus fracture and arthroscopic surgical procedure on his left knee.
Jaylen Brown returned from a hamstring harm within the preseason finale to attain 25 factors. The 2024 NBA Finals MVP is anticipated to hold a heavier load this yr with fellow All-Star Jayson Tatum, who watched the sport from the bench in road garments, recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Derrick White scored 13 of his 25 factors within the third quarter, when the Celtics scored 16 straight to show a five-point deficit into an 11-point lead. The Celtics led 94-84 with 9 minutes remaining earlier than the Sixers scored eight straight factors to make it shut.
The Related Press and ESPN Analysis contributed to this report.