Rookie Edgecombe earns dramatic late win for 76ers

Rookie VJ Edgecombe scored with 1.7 seconds left in overtime to give the Philadelphia 76ers the victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The 20-year-old contributed 25 points – including his 3-pointer – and the 76ers earned a 139-136 road victory.

Announcement

Teammates Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid led their team with 34 points each as the 76ers ended a three-game losing streak.

Ja Morant responded with 40 points for the Grizzlies, while rookie Cedric Coward added a career-high 28 points, but the hosts suffered back-to-back defeats.

The Grizzlies scored the final seven points of the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime, during which they took a 132-128 lead.

Embiid had missed his team’s previous game – a 129-104 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday – due to a sprained right ankle, and this was just his 14th appearance in 31 games this season.

Announcement

Elsewhere, LeBron James’ 41st birthday was ruined by the Detroit Pistons, who claimed a 128-106 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Cade Cunningham scored 27 points for the Pistons, who remain atop the Eastern Conference with 25 wins in 33 games after avoiding a season-worst three-game losing streak.

Luka Doncic recorded 30 points and 11 assists for the Lakers, with James adding 17 points to become just the 12th player in NBA history to compete at age 41 or older.

James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, played 1,577 career games, second only to Robert Parish’s 1,611.

Announcement

There were also wins for the Los Angeles Clippers and Boston Celtics on Tuesday.

The Clippers earned their fifth straight win by beating the Sacramento Kings 131-90, while the Celtics beat the Utah Jazz 129-119.