Edgecombe's 3-pointer in closing seconds gives 76ers a 139-136 overtime victory over Grizzlies

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — VJ Edgecombe scored 25 points, including a 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left in overtime to give the Philadelphia 76ers a 139-136 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in a tight game Tuesday night.

Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid led the 76ers with 34 points each, but it was Edgecombe, who suffered through foul trouble early, who carried Philadelphia through the fourth quarter, scoring 13 points in the period. His 25-footer clinched the win for Philadelphia, which snapped a three-game losing streak. Edgecombe was the third overall pick in the draft in June out of Baylor.

Ja Morant led Memphis with 40 points, including 18 in the fourth to bring Memphis back into the game. Cedric Coward finished with 28 points and 16 rebounds, career-highs in both as the Grizzlies lost their second in a row. Coward's 3-point attempt to tie the game as time expired bounced off the front of the rim.

Santi Aldama and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 15 points each, and Jackson grabbed 12 rebounds.

Philadelphia took a 103-100 lead into the fourth, and Edgecombe gave the Sixers a 124-118 lead near the four-minute mark with a pair of 3-pointers and a drive. But Morant and the Grizzlies fought back to tie the game at 128 with just under one minute left.

That sent the game to overtime.

Both teams shot better than 50% in the first half, resulting in a high-scoring affair. But Memphis was stymied by 11 turnovers, which offset the Grizzlies connecting on nine of their 17 3-pointers.

All of that led to a 72-all tie at the break. Maxey scoring 24 points, while Embiid added 19.

Coward led Memphis with 17 points and nine rebounds.

76ers: Continue a five-game road trip, playing the Mavericks on Thursday.

Grizzlies: Head to Los Angeles for two games with the Lakers on Friday and Sunday.

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Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) handles the ball ahead of Memphis Grizzlies guard Cedric Coward (23) in the second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) jumps to shoot ahead of Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe (77) handles the ball ahead of Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) and center Jock Landale (31) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

Memphis Grizzlies guard Cedric Coward (23) handles the ball ahead of Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George (8) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe (77) shoots against Memphis Grizzlies center Jock Landale in the second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand on Wednesday released 18 Cambodian prisoners of war held for five months, fulfilling the terms of a ceasefire agreement the two countries signed to end bitter fighting along their border.

The release was stipulated in the ceasefire agreement signed Saturday by the defense ministers of the two countries at the same border checkpoint between Thailand’s Chanthaburi province and Cambodia's Pailin province where the soldiers were released.

“The repatriation of the 18 Cambodian soldiers was undertaken as a demonstration of goodwill and confidence-building, as well as in adherence to international humanitarian principles,” Thailand’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Cambodia’s Defense Ministry said the release “creates an environment conducive to peace, stability, and the full normalization of relations for the benefit of both nations and their people in the near future.”

The soldiers’ release removes a major impediment toward that goal after two rounds of destructive combat over competing territorial claims.

Thailand had insisted it was allowed to hold the men under provisions of the Geneva Conventions governing the rules of war, which said they could be detained until the end of hostilities. The prisoners were allowed visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross and other rights covered under international humanitarian law, Thai authorities said.

Their continued detention was used effectively by Cambodia’s government to rally nationalist sentiment in the conflict against Thailand.

Wednesday’s statement from Cambodia’s defense ministry said the government “has remained steadfast in the promise made to the families of the 18 soldiers and the Cambodian people: that no soldier would be left behind.”

Video distributed by Cambodia's Information Ministry showed crowds along the road from the border checkpoint to the city of Pailin cheering and waving small flags as a bus carrying the freed men drove by in a motorcade. They were expected to be flown Wednesday to the capital Phnom Penh.

The ceasefire agreement said the soldiers would be freed if the end of combat was sustained for 72 hours after it came into effect at noon on Saturday. The 72 hours passed on Tuesday, but Thai authorities said they needed to evaluate the situation, claiming that 250 Cambodian drones had been active along the border.

The two countries had given differing accounts of the circumstances of the men’s capture, which took place on the same day the initial ceasefire came into effect at the end of July.

Cambodian officials say their soldiers approached the Thai position with friendly intentions to offer post-fighting greetings, while Thai officials said the Cambodians appeared to have hostile intent and entered what Thailand considers its territory and subsequently were taken prisoner.

There were originally 20 Cambodia soldiers taken captive, but two were repatriated within days for what were said to be medical reasons.

The original July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalized in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that Trump attended.

Despite those deals, the countries carried on a bitter propaganda war and minor cross-border violence continued, escalating in early December to widespread heavy fighting.

Thailand lost 26 soldiers and one civilian as a direct result of the combat since Dec. 7, according to officials. Thailand also reported 44 civilian deaths.

Sopheng Cheang reported from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Cambodian police officers stand guard as they wait for 18 soldiers released after being captured and held by the Thai army, at former Phnom Penh International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP), Cambodian soldiers, center, arrive after being captured and held by the Thai army, at Prum border gate, in Pailin province, Cambodia, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AKP via AP)

In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP), Cambodian soldiers sit in a van as they arrive after being captured and held by the Thai army, at Prum border gate, in Pailin province, Cambodia, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AKP via AP)

In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP), Cambodian soldiers are welcomed by villagers upon their arrival at Prum border gate, in Pailin province, Cambodia, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, after being captured and held by Thailand. (AKP via AP)

In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP), Cambodian soldiers, center, arrive after being captured and held by the Thai army, at Prum border gate, in Pailin province, Cambodia, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AKP via AP)