Even though it wasn't the most attractive contest, the Sixers and Magic were able to draw their two-game home series on Wednesday night.
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The Philadelphia 76ers finished off the two-game series against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night with a 105-94 victory. James Harden scored 26 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and distributed 10 assists, narrowly missing a triple-double. Joel Embiid scored 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds on the strength of a flawless 10-10 free throw shooting performance.
The three alternative starting lineups that depend on the matchup were the topic of discussion in the first quarter. To begin with, neither team played a lot of defense. The 37-point opening for the Sixers came on 48 percent shooting. Embiid certainly wanted to play better against Mo Wagner. He attacked him aggressively on the block and finished the quarter with a nice fast break with Shake Milton.
It was a really peculiar quarter for the Magic’s offense since they were able to grab anything they wanted at the rim to open the game, but they subsequently missed more than half of their free throws, starting the game 4-of-9 from the line. For the last 3:50 of the first, they were held without a point as the Sixers finished it on a 17-0 run.
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After only a few minutes of Montrezl Harrell, Doc Rivers chose to shift to Paul Reed. It’s unclear what precisely prompted the choice. Only two points were scored by Philadelphia in the opening four minutes of the second due to their lack of rhythm throughout this period.
The quickness and length of the Orlando team make them difficult to match up against. In light of this, I’m not convinced Georges Niang is the ideal choice to defend Paolo Banchero one-on-one. Although Philly didn’t employ this matchup much, Banchero passed Niang every trip down the floor. The first overall selection scored 11 points in the first half.
When the Sixers’ starters returned to the game, their offense struggled to get going. Embiid apart, every other Sixer had trouble with Orlando’s length. The second quarter saw Philadelphia’s 14-point advantage reduced to three as they shot 32% from the field.
The Sixers took the lead early in the third quarter thanks to a scoring explosion by James Harden. Nine of Harden’s 26 points came in the third. As seen by his seven errors, at times his passes didn’t feel as accurate. Nevertheless, he made up for it by providing nine assists and making 6 of 10 3-point attempts.
The Magic stayed in the game mostly due to turnovers. The Sixers had a few opportunities to return to a double-digit lead, but each time they would either allow the Magic an easy fast break or an and-1. Too many self-inflicted errors, as the Sixers led by four points going into the fourth.
As Harrell supported Embiid in the second half, Paul Reed must also have made a mistake. Not only does it seem unfair that the person who is performing the worst is getting the most minutes, but it also seems random which player gets to play.
Tyrese Maxey had another underwhelming performance, making only 2-of-11 field goal attempts. Although the smaller Maxey struggled against Orlando, it wasn’t a great surprise when he finally connected on a three-pointer in the corner to give the Sixers a 10-point lead with eight minutes left.
After playing very shoddy basketball for the previous two quarters, it was encouraging to watch the Sixers cruise for most of the fourth. Although the Magic are a youthful squad with skill and a lot of energy, the Sixers wouldn’t allow them to lose two straight games despite their best efforts. The Sixers will leave their home base for a week to go on the road, with their first stop coming on Friday at 8 p.m. in San Antonio to play the Spurs.
Magic: Made six of 39 3-point attempts.
76ers: Through three quarters, De’Anthony Melton and Tyrese Maxey shot a combined 1 for 11 from the field. Midway through the fourth, Maxey scored a 3-pointer to give his team a 93-83 advantage.
Watch the match highlights below.
