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For the second time in three days, the Philadelphia 76ers (6-15) hosted the Orlando Magic (16-9). The Sixers got some reinforcements with Paul George and Andre Drummond becoming available to play, which helped them win 102-94.
On top of getting George and Drummond back in the starting lineup, the Magic's defensive terror Jonathan Isaac was ruled out due to right hamstring soreness. Paolo Banchero remained sidelined, as well. This was a great chance for the 76ers to pick up a win.
George's return moved Jared McCain back to the bench, a move that hamstrings the 76ers' lineup by depriving them of one of their very best players. Franz Wagner had to work harder for his points and pushing the rest of the Magic offense down gave the home team the boost it needed to earn its eponymous victory.
PG's latest return game
George was rested on the second game of a back-to-back despite insisting that he wanted to play. He had a strong game on Tuesday against the Charlotte Hornets and once again provided a steadying presence for Philly.
The first two shots of the night, a pair of midrange jumpers, found the bottom of the net for PG. He drove and dished it to teammates for buckets in the paint. His three-point shooting remained cold, as is a requirement for every new Sixer for some reason, but he still did his thing with 21 points and nine assists.
Well, except for him smoking a wide-open dunk in the third quarter. The internet will be sharing that every time he has a bad game going forward. A fan base of a certain red, white and blue NBA team from Los Angeles is surely going to love it. However, apparently no one on Twitter had posted it before the game ended? At least not anywhere this writer could find it. That might be a real sign of that website's decline.
The Philly faithful, however, will continue to love what George can do for his current team on the court. Neither McCain nor Tyrese Maxey had games worth talking much about. They each shot 1-4 in the first half, fading into the background of the contest. Thanks to PG, the Sixers' offense had some structural integrity. That’s all it took against this woeful Orlando offense.
Drummond took it right at Moe Wagner, batting for offensive boards and stealing the ball away from him. He made some good plays on defense, leading the game with four steals on top of 11 rebounds, but his lackluster paint protection left the Sixers exposed at various points in the game.
Although George and Drummond returned, Caleb Martin hurt his ankle in the first quarter. He went back to the locker room and returned to the game in the second quarter but didn’t play the rest of the way. Something to monitor.
Martin making moves
KJ Martin's athleticism, defense and occasional scoring have buoyed the team lately. After a high-scoring outing (by his standards) against the Detroit Pistons, he outpaced everyone but Wagner in the scoring column for a chunk of time. Although George eclipsed him, he was still Philly's second-leading scorer with a new season-high 20 points on 9-10 shooting.
Martin is a master of finding space to move to and has been giving himself headstarts when he gets the ball in the halfcourt, enhancing his athletic gifts. He hit a triple and didn’t miss a shot until the second half. Although he's not someone who will be good for double-digit points night after night — most of his buckets were assisted — he clearly knows how to play off of ball-dominant stars.
The blend of athleticism and IQ Martin has makes him someone the Sixers absolutely must give minutes to every game. They need both of those things badly, regardless of any of their stars' status.
Thanks in large part to Martin, the 76ers' offense looked fluid and efficient despite reverting back to a bad three-point-shooting squad. His teammates used him as an example by scoring efficiently in the paint. Unfortunately, their inefficiency from the arc and the charity stripe made this game harder than it needed to be.
Playing into the Magic's game
Philly committed eight turnovers in the first quarter but still managed to trail by just two points. Save for Wagner, the Magic's offense was pretty rough. For as great as their defense is, their offense is one of the 10 worst in the NBA. This matchup became a scoring-deficient mess — just as Orlando wanted to do. But the Sixers were game.
Wagner scored 15 of the Magic's first 22 points, getting them out to a lead for most of the first quarter. But it was made abundantly clear that as he goes, Orlando goes. He shot more from three than inside the arc, where he diced the Sixers up on Wednesday, and was not able to find a groove.
Although George had the pace, size and slick handles to navigate the Magic's defense, Maxey once again shot the ball inefficiently. His three-point shooting may never rebound unless Joel Embiid comes back and he can set him up for good looks again. He continues to end up taking tough shots too often and failing to convert at a similarly disappointing, low rate.
Late in the third quarter, however, Maxey fueled a 10-0 Sixers run. He set up McCain and Kelly Oubre Jr. for three, using his ability to penetrate the perimeter for good. On a drive where he finally had enough room to get a clean shot up, he blasted past Anthony Black and got bumped from behind, hitting the layup but missing the foul shot.
The Magic bench (plus Jalen Suggs) erased a big deficit Maxey helped create with a 10-0 run where they keyed in on George and kicked the 76ers' teeth in on defense. Orlando got some huge buckets from Suggs and Cole Anthony but Philly, despite poor free-throw shooting, managed to hold on.
Philly made things so much harder by failing to shoot from the one spot on the floor where Orlando couldn’t do anything: the free-throw line. Making 19 of 29 attempts from the stripe is unacceptable.
The 76ers will play the Chicago Bulls in the Windy City on Sunday afternoon. Once again, they hope Embiid can return.
