The Philadelphia 76ers handled business in New York, securing a huge victory over one of the league's best teams.
Despite being without Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers just picked up their best victory of the season. The Sixers headed into New York and took down the Knicks in a very hard-fought battle, much thanks to the effort from their backcourt in the final stretch.
VJ Edgecombe played the best game of his young career as he was on fire on both sides of the ball. Along with scoring 23 points, Edgecombe played some of the best defense that Jalen Brunson's seen over the last few seasons. Down the stretch, Brunson couldn't buy a bucket and was completely locked down by the rookie, which was some of the most impressive defense we've seen from him in his career.
Alongside Edgecombe in the backcourt, Tyrese Maxey was also amazing as he's been all season. The fourth quarter was particularly impressive from Maxey, as he hit some incredibly tough shots to maintain Philly's lead.
Jared McCain also deserves a mention, as he hit a couple of clutch shots that greatly helped boost the momentum for the Sixers. Overall, their backcourt was spectacular to end the game, and is the primary reason that they won.
This is very good to see with Embiid out because they did exactly what they needed to, in the area's that they needed to. Anytime their star big man is out, it automatically becomes top priority to get the backcourt going to make sure they can lead the team.
This was a fantastic win for a number of reasons, but the biggest being that it's one that the team can build momentum off of. The Knicks are one of the best teams in the league, as they just won the NBA Cup, making the solid victory much more impressive, especially without Embiid.
This was the first of back-to-back games for the Sixers, so hopefully they can use this momentum to pick up a victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Given that Embiid missed this game with his illness, it's very possible he plays tomorrow since he got an extra day of rest. That would be a great opportunity to pick up their 16th win of the season and continue to rise up the standings in the Eastern Conference.