Career-High Nights from Two 76ers Rallies Philadelphia to Third Win in Last Four Games
Mar 19, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Vj Edgecombe (77) celebrates with center Andre Drummond (1) during the fourth quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images
Late-night West Coast action, no problem for the Philadelphia 76ers.
As the 76ers’ season winds down, the team still has to get through one of the worst parts of the season for Eastern Conference teams, the dreaded West Coast trips. There are very few a year, and the 76ers are on the last stretch, with a matchup against the Sacramento Kings being their final game in the state of California this season.
It was a career night for multiple 76ers in Sactown, as not one but two players finished with career-highs in points in Philadelphia’s 139-118 win over Sacramento. 76ers rookie VJ Edgecombe continued his historic rookie season, leading the team to victory with 38 points, while Justin Edwards, a player the 76ers have continued to push towards success, finished with 32 points. Edgecombe also added 11 assists and seven rebounds, just missing a triple-double, while Edwards drilled seven threes, also a career-high.
Despite the 76ers struggling to score points early as of late, tonight’s matchup against the Kings was almost the exact opposite. Right away, baskets were dropping, mainly from Edwards, who in the first six minutes of the night scored a quick 13 points, nine coming off three pointers. Despite falling into a quick hole, the Kings remained in it due to eight quick points from Daeqwon Plowden.
With Edwards taking a seat after his hot start, the scoring duties moved over to Edgecombe. Whether it was a long three, driving through the lane, or throwing down vicious dunks, Edgecombe was scoring all over the floor.
After it was all said and done, the 76ers ended the first leading the Kings 45-33, with 45 points tying their season high for a single quarter.
Quarter two was the exact opposite for Philadelphia, especially during the first few minutes, as the 76ers couldn’t buy a shot, not hitting their first field goal until nearly four minutes into the quarter. Due to the missed shots and back-to-back threes from Doug McDermott and Maxime Raynaud, Sacramento cut its deficit to single digits.
The remainder of the quarter was similar to that of the 76ers, who went on a few small runs but were answered right away by Sacramento. Edwards and Edgecombe were the leading scorers through the first 12 minutes of action, but Quentin Grimes was the guy for Philadelphia over the next 12, scoring 12 points in the second as the 76ers went into the break up 71-62.
While the third quarter has been the disaster quarter this season for Philadelphia, tonight was one of their best all season. Through Grimes and Edwards from beyond the arc, through Edgecombe in the paint, and around the cylinder, to Adem Bona and Dominick Barlow cleaning up the glass and knocking down layups, everything was going right for the 76ers in the third.
They opened the second half on a 17-4 run, and while the Kings finally got cooking, the 76ers didn’t take their foot off the gas, closing the quarter on a 14-5 run, taking a nearly 20-point lead into the fourth quarter.
With 12 minutes to play and up 107-89, Edgecombe and Edwards, the two guys who had been doing the bulk of the scoring all night, stayed hot and began closing out the game. Philadelphia opened the fourth on a 15-4 run, with just four of those points not coming from Edgecombe or Edwards.
As the fourth quarter rolled down, Edwards drilled back-to-back three-pointers, putting Philadelphia up nearly thirty, forcing the Kings to finally wave the white flag as they rolled out their bench units. The 76ers followed, treating the final four minutes of action as bench basketball, as Philadelphia hung on for the 139-118 victory.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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