The Philadelphia 76ers (15-22) looked to bounce back from a bad homestand in a road matchup against the Orlando Magic (23-18). Without Joel Embiid in the lineup for the fourth straight game, the Sixers let another very winnable game slip through their hands. Final score: 104-99.

The 76ers' matchup with the Magic took a backseat to a certain NFL playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field and perhaps even the news of the Sixers' plans to stay in a new South Philadelphia arena. Embiid took some more oomph out of this matchup by sitting out due to his left foot sprain, missing his fourth consecutive contest. Both teams were down a star (Franz Wagner for Orlando) and several other role players.

The injuries continued into the game. Tyrese Maxey seemed to hurt his left hand as Anthony Black went up for a layup, though he remained in the game after a timeout, while Orlando's Tristan da Silva and Goga Bitadze got hurt during the first half.

A low-scoring affair (to no one's surprise)

George said he was “bored” playing center for the 76ers — something that was taken out of context and was about a position he has barely even played – because he liked having more to do on defense than just be physical with someone. He backed up his words on the first play of the game by intercepting a pass intended for Banchero.

Adem Bona pitched in with some strong rim protection, sending back a Goga Bitadze dunk attempt, and Philly deflected and stole a few other passes. The Sixers defended hard, as they always do, and turned their takeaways into points very frequently. They scored 27 points off of Orlando's 17 turnovers.

The Magic's spectacular defense never stops, even as some of their top individual defenders go in and out of the lineup. From the big man, Bitadze, to point guard Cole Anthony, they dig in deep and fight hard to keep the ball in front of them. Although the Sixers managed to get to the foul line 10 times in the first quarter, they shot poorly from the field.

It was rare for the Sixers to shoot without a hand in their face. They had to burn a timeout because they almost got an inbound violation and nearly posted the same amount of turnovers and field goals with four minutes left in the first half. They failed to score in the first two and a half minutes of the second half — in fact, they didn’t even get a shot up, committing five straight turnovers instead.

Magic find a way to work with what they have

Based on each team's offensive processes, the Magic's attack was more layered and well-balanced than the 76ers. They got up the floor faster and moved more purposefully in the halfcourt.

The Magic set good screens and slipped into open spots on the floor, generating some good looks. Philly's zone defense wasn’t very effective even when Banchero subbed out and Anthony Black ran some point for Orlando. The Magic wanted to get the youngster some on-ball reps but it came at the cost of shot creation. Although he used his size and strength to get some points up, he's clearly still learning how to read the floor and make snappy decisions with the ball.

Banchero, understandably, earned a lot of attention from the Sixers' defense. He opted to swing the ball around rather than force the issue one-on-one, which kept the Philly defense honest but also resulted in much inferior players taking the shots for Orlando. The home team simply doesn’t have a ton of firepower on offense, so plenty of advantages created by Banchero were not cashed in. He also

Anthony stepped up with a huge night, shooting 8-9 in the first half. Not all of his shots were open but he got them to go all the same. Jonathan Isaac also had a high-scoring game for his standards. The entire Magic team synched up when the Sixers flipped their defense to zone, working the ball into the middle and making the right cuts around that, and crashed the offensive glass hard, securing 12 extra chances through rebounds.

It wasn’t the prettiest way to close but the Magic muscled their way into the paint and benefited from the 76ers' sloppiness — their inability to rebound and frequency of fouls. Philly's last offensive possession ended with a five-second violation.

Some flare on offense, finally

Through the first half, the 76ers' best offense was their defense. Maxey lived at the free throw line in part because he raced out into the open court after a takeaway. Although his 22 points at the half were mostly a result of good drives and timely cuts, he dared the Magic to beat him to spots and they struggled. The second half was a different story.

The 76ers have started experimenting with a flare screen starting their offense. It often results in a quick look from three and can flow into different actions if that isn't there. After a horrible start to the third quarter, the Sixers started going back to it and managed to look half-decent.

Maxey handled the ball while Guerschon Yabusele set the screen to open up space for George. The Magic were all over the initial read, leading to a re-screen from Yabu that helped George get a step on defenders and allowed the French forward to set up shop deeper in the paint. Orlando's switching kept George from driving too far (as did the nimble feet of Wendel Carter Jr.) but the big man setting him up took advantage of the smaller defenders.

Yabusele has an array of post moves that are often antiquated in the modern game but can come in handy in certain spots. In spots like these games, where points were hard to come by and he wasn’t lighting it up from deep, they were very beneficial.

George started to get into a rhythm once the 76ers' offense found a more solid (if still basic) structure, leading a 20-8 run and scoring 11 points in the period while securing a double-double in three quarters. Many of the shots were the type of deep, off-the-dribble looks that are difficult to live on but the Sixers found a way to make those shots a bit easier.

The Sixers started to slip when George hit the bench to begin the fourth quarter, scoring just four points in five minutes. All PG needed was a little bit of space to drain a three-pointer. Any defender smaller than him ran the risk of a pull-up trey going right over them. PG shot 5-8 from beyond the arc on his way to 25 points along with 10 rebounds, six assists and three turnovers.

George's worst enemy tonight? Himself. Foul trouble once again reared its ugly head, as he fouled out of a three-point game with 2:49 left. The Sixers wasted time without intentionally fouling and couldn’t outpace Orlando after PG hit the bench for good. The Magic just wanted that game more — and they got it.

The 76ers will continue their stretch of tough opponents with a home back-to-back that starts on Tuesday. Up first: the Oklahoma City Thunder.