What is the story about?
Ah screw it, bring on the Celtics.
The Sixers out battled the Orlando Magic 109-97 in the first round of the Eastern Conference Play-In tournament Wednesday night. They have now earned the seventh seed in the East and will take on Boston in the first round of the playoffs, beginning Sunday afternoon.
Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 31 points, shooting 11-of-25 from the floor along with six assists. Paul George put up 16 points, five assists and two steals on six-of-16 shooting.
In his first postseason
game, VJ Edgecombe went for 19 points, shooting 7-of-16 from the floor while pulling down 11 rebounds. Kelly Oubre Jr. had 19 as well while Desmond Bane led all scorers with 34.
Joel Embiid (appendectomy surgery recovery) and Johni Broome (knee surgery recovery) were out for the Sixers while Orlando was down Jonathan Isaac (knee sprain).
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
First Quarter
- Adem Bona got the start at center in this one. Size-wise it did make sense to stagger him against Wendell Carter Jr. and Andre Drummond against Goga Bitadze. Bona grabbed an offensive rebound and hit another off a defender. Both of those second chances led to the Sixers’ first five points of the game. Kelly Oubre Jr. started well making two of his first threes and got in an early jawing match with Paolo Banchero that earned double technicals.
- It’s not a surprise both defenses looked better early. Orlando looked to have an early edge on the glass while the Sixers caused disruption via deflections. They had three early steals and scored on two of those fast break opportunities. Maxey got credit for the steal Drummond started with his deflection, but the backup center swatted away two shots in the quarter.
- Orlando’s defense was able to keep the Sixers’ dribble penetration out of the lane and make them settle. Neither Maxey or George shot it well out of the gate, opening a combined 3-of-10 from the floor. Maxey found his footing a bit, knocking down a couple jumpers, forcing a Magic timeout in the process. He had a floater just rim out only to be slammed back home by Drummond. Maxey swung to an open Oubre in the corner for a three that put the Sixers up by four after one.
Second Quarter
- Maxey finally went to the bench to start the quarter. Of course, George and Edgecombe manned the floor with him off. Nick Nurse only went eight deep in the first half. George started it well hitting a pair of contested pull-ups. On the other end, the Magic started having an easier time getting to the basket. Franz Wagner opened the quarter with a floater before the Sixers surrendered a wide open cut and a put-back dunk.
- Fouling a guy enough to get called, but not enough to make the defender miss the shot feels like something the Sixers are uniquely bad at as the Magic had a couple and-1s early in the quarter. He didn’t commit either, but Dominick Barlow picked up three fouls in a whistle-happy half.
- For as much as they settled, the Sixers were also swinging the ball into a good amount of open threes that weren’t falling. George and Maxey remained the only Sixers other than Oubre to make one. They got better looks near the basket as the half closed. Maxey hit a nice floater, Oubre challenged Carter at the basket and made the layup, and Edgecombe got a layup and a foul in transition. The Magic continued to live at the line though, shooting 17 free throws in the half. After that 17th attempt, Maxey responded with a drive and kick to the corner and Drummond knocked it down, keeping the Sixers lead right at four at the half.
Third Quarter
- Fittingly, Bane opened the second half by drawing a light foul, sinking his jumper in the process. The Sixers defense responded very well to that with three straight stops, including a shot clock violation and a nice block from Bona. Moving the ball well finally paid off for the Sixers as well as Edgecombe knocked down a corner three. Oubre hit one not long after to give the Sixers their largest lead of the night at seven.
- It was pretty noticeable how well the Sixers were getting to 50/50 balls compared to postseasons of years past. Edgecombe was a big reason for that. The save he made on Bona’s incredible third block was also very impressive. George poked free a steal that Edgecombe ran out and finished the play with a fast break layup. The flexing he did in Jalen Suggs’ face brought on more chippiness and the crowd to its feet, but Edgecombe got a technical in the process. It was the fifth technical assessed by this point in the game.
- For as much as the crowd got into that moment, the Sixers’ momentum was halted, going scoreless for the next two and a half minutes and without a field goal for over three. It took the rebound of a Maxey airball bouncing its way to Barlow to break that streak as the Sixers couldn’t buy a jumper. Orlando chipped away from the line before some free throws started bouncing their way. Anthony Black missed a pair to give the fans free chicken before Drummond sank two, keeping the Sixers ahead by five.
Fourth Quarter
- Edgecombe had his shot blocked to start the fourth, but the Sixers were able to run back with the Magic and get a stop. It was important they do that and tack on a couple baskets, because Edgecombe then turned it over trying to get it to George. Orlando finding their three-point stroke only made it easier to stay on the Sixers’ heels. Edgecombe made up for that a few plays later with a brilliant strip on Banchero.
- That steal helped the Sixers settle down a bit. Edgecombe hit a jumper before Maxey ripped off seven straight points of his own. It was his longest stretch of the game where he could hit from anywhere. A lot of the foul calls may have been weak but two very poorly-timed fouls from Bona really helped the Magic stop that momentum. He fouled Banchero once the ball had already gone through the hoop, then he just shoved Carter long after the rebound had been secured.
- The Sixers continued to leave points on the table, they gave up two offensive rebounds on a possession, then George split a pair of free throws. Drummond threw a great pass to find Edgecombe on the baseline, but they gave it right back by losing Wagner in front of the basket. For all of these scenarios though, they responded with points. They answered the Magic every time down, which is what it takes to win these games. Edgecombe tried to dunk on everyone like a maniac and had to settle for a trip to the line.
- After Maxey made a tremendous block of a layup and Oubre made two more at the line, it looked wrapped up as the crowd chanted “we want Boston”. Fittingly, the actual icing on the cake was another corner three from Drummond.
