PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Cam Payne scored 13 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, rookie VJ Edgecombe returned to the lineup to score 21 points and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 139-129 on Tuesday night.
Kelly Oubre Jr. had 31 points and 12 rebounds and Quentin Grimes scored 22 points for the 76ers, who were without All-Star guards Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid. The team announced before the game that Maxey would be sidelined for at least three weeks due to a tendon injury in his right little finger.
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Edgecombe took over Maxey’s point guard duties after missing three straight games with a lower back contusion. He provided the highlight of the game, showing off the condition of his back with a two-handed leaping dunk midway through the second quarter.
Ty Jerome scored 26 points for the Grizzlies, who have lost five straight and 12 of 15 games.
Jerome’s 3-pointer gave Memphis a 115-107 lead with 9:34 left in the game before the 76ers took control of the game. Memphis went scoreless for nearly 3 1/2 minutes before Philadelphia scored 12 straight points on Payne’s 3-pointer to take a 119-115 lead with 6:29 left. The 76ers kept going, with Dominick Barlow’s 3-pointer making it 128-117 with 4:56 left.
The Grizzlies’ frustration showed toward the end of the game when Jerome was ejected with two technical fouls with 1:18 left.
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Also missing the Philadelphia game are Embiid (right oblique strain) and Paul George (league suspension). Embiid missed his fifth straight game, and head coach Nick Nurse previously said the 2023 MVP would be re-evaluated later this week. George was suspended 25 games for violating the terms of the NBA’s anti-drug program and is still weeks away from returning.
Memphis is seven games out of the West’s final playoff spot and has more players missing (11) than in uniform (10).
Next
Grizzlies: Host Dallas on Thursday.
76ers: At Detroit on Thursday.
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