Observations after Sixers grind out win over Magic, shrug off cold shooting originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Sixers outplayed the Magic in the second half and earned their fifth win in six games Friday night.
Advertisement
They picked up a 103-91 victory in Orlando and moved to 21-15 on the season. The Magic fell to 21-18.
Tyrese Maxey had 29 points and three steals.
Joel Embiid posted 22 points and nine rebounds. Paul George added 18 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.
The Sixers had everyone available for the second consecutive game. Orlando’s Franz Wagner, Mo Wagner, Jalen Suggs and Tristan da Silva were out with injuries.
The Magic’s leading scorers were Desmond Bane with 23 points and Anthony Black with 21. Paolo Banchero had 14 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
The Sixers will play the Raptors on both Sunday and Monday nights in Toronto. Here are observations on their win over the Magic:
Advertisement
Brick-heavy first half
Orlando’s offensive rebounding was an early problem for the Sixers. Bane laid in his own miss and Sixers head coach Nick Nurse called timeout with his team trailing 6-1.
The Sixers’ frigid shooting start wound up being a far larger issue. They began 4 for 18 from the floor and 0 for 12 from three-point range. Maxey missed his first six field goals, including several open long-distance shots.
The Magic’s shooting wasn’t much better and the game stayed close. Quentin Grimes finally hit the Sixers’ first triple early in the second quarter, which knotted the score at 31-all.
Outside shooting remained a giant weakness for both offenses throughout the evening. At halftime, the teams were a combined 3 for 33 beyond the arc. The numbers at the final buzzer were 8 for 57 (14 percent).
Advertisement
Sixers win in key areas
The Sixers used a 10-man rotation. Adem Bona received his first DNP since Dec. 14 and Andre Drummond played 17 minutes as Embiid’s backup.
Kelly Oubre Jr. came off the bench and shot 0 for 5 from the field in his second game after returning from a left knee LCL sprain. He couldn’t hit a couple of contested layups and lacked his typical decisiveness as a driver.
The Sixers did get plenty of multiple-shot possessions to compensate for their many misses. They had 15 offensive rebounds in the first half and a season high-tying 21 in the game.
To their credit, the Sixers didn’t appear too demoralized by how they were shooting. The team also earned advantages Friday in the turnovers column (19 to 13) and at the foul line (21 makes to the Magic’s 15). The Sixers have been a top-five team this season in free throw percentage. They went 21 for 25 (87.5 percent) at the charity stripe in Orlando.
Advertisement
Stars shine after halftime
Both Embiid and Maxey looked like their usual selves in the third quarter.
Embiid troubled the Magic with his physicality and foul drawing. Maxey found frequent success driving into the paint. His second three-pointer of the third quarter gave the Sixers an 80-72 lead and Orlando didn’t have the necessary firepower to respond.
George stepped up with important shotmaking early in the fourth quarter as Maxey and Embiid rested. The Sixers ran their offense through George and he scored a few 1-on-1 buckets. The veteran forward also assisted a short Drummond bank shot that put the Sixers up double digits for the first time.
Advertisement
Their first-half performance was obviously not the prettiest, but the Sixers played a good second half and will be satisfied with the win on a night they set new season lows in made threes (four) and three-point percentage (14.3).
