Quentin Grimes and Justin Edwards led the way for the Sixers in a hard-fought 109-103 victory over the Blazers, with Grimes dropping a season-high 31 points to get the 76ers over the line.

Here’s what I saw.

An unexpected 1-2 punch

If the Sixers gain nothing else from this stretch outside of a small and permanent boost to Justin Edwards’ confidence, perhaps all the misery and injuries will have been worth it. He has played several excellent games in a row and showcased a few skills that have either been dormant or nonexistent the rest of this season. Truly delightful.

Players will always tell you that it’s easier to capture and sustain momentum when you can work yourself into a game rather than taking periodic “role player” shots operating off of stars, and you can see where the present circumstances may be helping Edwards. He got going early against Portland, hitting a pair of threes in the first quarter that included a crossover into a pull-up jumper just over a minute into the ballgame. After a rough three-point outing against Brooklyn, that was a heck of a way to start the Blazers battle.

Honestly, I’m not sure why Nick Nurse was somewhat restrained with his minutes, playing Edwards only 12 first-half minutes despite the strong start. It didn’t seem like an appeal for defense, given their other options and Edwards’ own contributions there, which I would call mostly fine. In any case, Edwards was a big part of the game’s shift in the third quarter, hitting a corner three and a stop-and-pop midrange on the break to cap off a Sixers run that pushed the lead to seven and forced a Portland timeout.

His run would continue from there, with Edwards mostly attacking the Blazers with a barrage of pull-up twos. Edwards looks cool, calm, and collected right now. You can understand why he isn’t able to take those shots as often with the stars in the lineup, but you have to imagine it feels a bit more like his high school days, when he could pull shots whenever and wherever he wanted. Edwards’ steady and ultra-efficient contributions were huge this weekend, picking up the slack with VJ Edgecombe trying to find his rhythm. And his last make was a hellacious slam off of a steal that brought the house down in South Philadelphia, a crowning moment for Edwards after his third straight good game.

High-level play this time of year is more expected from Quentin Grimes, and I am another game or two away from declaring Grimes the unofficial king of March basketball. And unlike last season, Grimes’ late-season contributions actually mean something to a team hoping to hold the year together.

The Sixers are in desperate need of volume scoring with so many high-usage players out, and Grimes has a couple of traits that are helping him hold down the fort. His first step is his biggest weapon, and it is so good that I am honestly shocked he doesn’t score more regardless of who is in the lineup. The Blazers were forced to put high-priority defenders on Grimes after a strong start to the game, and he was able to largely neutralize them, easing by with the initial burst before hitting some easy middies and layups following the separation.

With Tyrese Maxey on the shelf, the Sixers have had some success running some of the guard/guard screens using Edgecombe to free up Grimes that they used when heir All-NBA candidate was on the floor. There was a particularly nice sequence in Sunday’s first half, with VJ popping out on a brush screen as Grimes seized on a moment of hesitation in Portland’s defense, going all the way to the basket for a lefty layup.

This weekend, it was mostly left to Grimes to carry the Sixers’ offense in the fourth quarter, and he was up to the task, putting together some nice combination plays with Andre Drummond while also getting a little bit of his work done in transition after working hard on the other end of the floor. Grimes capped off a big Sixers run in the middle of the fourth quarter with a steal that turned into a tough finish, meeting Trendon Watford in the aftermath to bump chests and scream in celebration.

With the ability to score in so many different ways — on the break, off the catch, driving at closeouts, cutting off-ball — it’s baffling that Grimes can go through periods of the season where he’s ineffective. In any case, his ability to meet the moment played a big part in two victories this weekend, and their best periods as a team this year have nearly all included rock-solid Grimes. He’s a bellwether player in good times and bad.

A dirty work game for VJ Edgecombe

It has been tough sledding on the efficiency front for VJ Edgecombe as an expected No. 1 option, and Portland certainly didn’t make his life easy with the defensive matchups they threw at him on Sunday night. Edgecombe had to attack Jrue Holiday, Toumani Camara, and Matisse Thybulle for different periods of the game, and each of those guys brings enough length and athleticism to really bother the rookie guard or flat-out deny him the ball in the first place.

But I was heartened by the fact that this was mostly an issue of missed shots, and not the Blazers just bullying him up and down the floor. He was able to set up some quality looks from the midrange in basic pick-and-roll actions, and the Sixers also ran him through some Iverson cuts, using his speed to flash across the middle of the floor and bump his defender off with screens. Edgecombe got good looks at the basket from 15 feet and in, and he simply couldn’t capitalize. He was also forced to play through some terribly clunky Sixers possessions, navigating through haphazard screens and poor spacing

As he tried to find his way scoring the ball, Edgecombe was up to plenty on the other end of the floor, pulling down nine first-half rebounds with inspired pursuit of the basketball on Portland misses. With Donovan Clingan drawing a lot of attention around the rim, rebounding 1-5 was a critical part of keeping this one close, and Edgecombe was able to earn the Sixers a few early baskets in transition with the initial grab and a well-timed outlet.

Even though he struggled to open this game, Edgecombe rose to the moment in a tight game down the stretch, shaking Scoot Henderson for a bucket by the basket before uncorking an even tougher one in the final minute, rising over Camara for the jumper that effectively killed the game off. If we are to believe this environment is too tough for even Tyrese Maxey to consistently thrive in, we can certainly extend a little grace to the rookie, who keeps his eye on the main objective of winning even during a tough start.

Other notes

— Credit where it is due, I thought this was a pretty good Andre Drummond game. As a card-carrying member of the “just play small and bench him” committee, this was an example of the impact he can have when he mostly focuses on the basics. He set some absolutely bone-crushing screens, including one that put Thybulle flat on his back to set up a wide-open Grimes three. Nurse tried to match his minutes with Clingan, and that worked out well for Philadelphia, with Portland’s young center unable to make the same impact matched up with a more like-sized opponent. And this was the best passing game we’ve seen from Drummond in maybe a month or two, with their backup center threading some beauties through traffic to Sixers cutters.

Of course, even during a game like that, we had this moment in the third, which appeared destined for disaster right up until it wasn’t:

Frankly, I’ll grant him one of these a game if he’s as active as he was against the Blazers. He was vocal and engaged defensively and did a great job of area rebounding. I’ll take this version of Drummond anytime.

— I do not understand why Trendon Watford has such a long leash relative to other role players. He was an active negative on defense and gets a little too involved on offense when he’s on the floor, with the Sixers often forcing him the ball