Philadelphia 76ers rookie V.J. Edgecombe did not take kindly to New York Knicks forward Jermey Sochan’s attempt to “troll” him during Wednesday’s Game 2 at Madison Square Garden.
According to ClutchPoints’ Kris Pursiainen, Sochan initially mocked Edgecombe at the 7:47 mark of the fourth quarter when the 76ers wing pleaded a foul call with referees.
“VJ Edgecombe quite unhappy with officials. Jeremy Sochan went over to troll him as he pleaded his case to one ref, and they had to move their convo to halfcourt 😭”
Knicks lead 96-94 with 7:47 left.
VJ Edgecombe quite unhappy with officials. Jeremy Sochan went over to troll him as he pleaded his case to one ref, and they had to move their convo to halfcourt 😭
At the end of the game, Sochan once again chirped at Edgecombe as he congratulated the 76ers for not getting blown out and losing only by a margin of six points. Needless to say, Edgecombe and his teammates did not appreciate Sochan’s troll job.
Knicks vs. 76ers Game 2: Tensions Rise
After the game, Edgecombe said he was not surprised at the fiery exchanges between the Atlantic Division rivals.
“I think that’s what it is. It’s going to be a dogfight,” he said, via New York Post.
“They’re a really good team, and it’s going to come down to the wire almost every game.”
Edgecombe also got into a verbal tiff with Knicks superfan Spike Lee, according to Heavy Sports’ Alder Almo.
VJ Edgecombe: ‘We Should Have Won’
The 76ers, playing without Joel Embiid, missed a golden opportunity to square up the series on Wednesday. Nick Nurse’s team led by one point at the end of the third quarter, and held the Knicks to just 19 points on 21 possessions in the final period. However, the 76ers had offensive troubles of their own as they generated just 12 points on 21 possessions in the final 12 minutes. It was their third least efficient quarter over the entire season (92 overall games), according to NBA.com’s John Schuhmann.
Edgecombe feels his team let one slip.
“We feel like we shoulda won it,” he said after the gane.
“I’d say it came down to shotmaking at the end of the game. They were making shots, we weren’t. [Jalen] Brunson made a lot of tough shots towards the end of the game, and we missed wide-open ones.
“Even in the timeouts, we were really confident the whole time,” he added.
Edgecombe had the unfortunate task of guarding Brunson for most of the game. The rookie felt he did a good job guarding the Knicks captain.
“We did pretty good [on Brunson],” he said. “He’s gonna score. We’re not gonna hold him scoreless, he’s a good player.”
Knicks vs. 76ers Game 3 tips off at 7 p.m. ET on Friday. The series now shifts to Philadelphia after the Knicks held onto homecourt advantage with a 2-0 lead.
– VJ Edgecombe
Knicks Star’s Attempt to ‘Troll’ V.J. Edgecombe Backfires [WATCH]