3 observations after Embiid’s injury scare leads Sixers to crucial win over Magic originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Make it seven consecutive wins for the Sixers with one game remaining in the 2023-24 season.
The team recorded another important win, taking a 125-113 decision over the Magic in the final game of the season on Friday night at Wells Fargo Center.
Joel Embiid finished the contest after suffering an injury in the second quarter (more on that below) and had 32 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.
Tyrese Maxey posted 28 points. Kelly Oubre Jr. added 21 points and nine rebounds.
All-Star Orlando forward Paolo Banchero scored 22 points on 7-of-24 shooting, grabbed 15 boards and dished out seven assists. Franz Wagner scored 24 points and Jalen Suggs had 20 points.
The Sixers’ victory means their quest for a top-six finish in the Eastern Conference (and avoiding the NBA play-in tournament) will extend to the final day of the season. Both the Sixers and Magic are now 46-35. The Sixers must win again on Sunday afternoon against the Nets to stay out of the play-ins.
In such a situation, either a magical loss to the Bucks or a loss to the Pacers to the Hawks would propel the Sixers into the top six. If the Sixers, Orlando and Indiana all win, the Sixers will be tied for third in that third-way tiebreaker and remain at No. 7.
Here are the comments on the Sixers’ win over Orlando on Friday night:
All round Embiid excellence
Embiid had two assists for a 37-point triple-double when the Sixers beat the Pistons on Tuesday night. After Friday’s first quarter, he looked headed for a triple-double.
The seven-time All-Star played 12 consecutive minutes to start the game and posted 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Embiid was at his best with his smarts and aggression when it came to drawing fouls. Magic veterans Wendell Carter Jr. and Goga Bitadze each scored two in the first quarter. (Carter played only four minutes the night due to back spasms.)
Embiid sought the ball against him in the post, giving Bitadze zero chance to settle into the action. After assisting on a Tobias Harris layup on a crisp give-and-go, Embiid threw a skip pass to Oubre in the corner. Oubre sank his three-pointer and Orlando took a timeout with the Sixers up 14–7.
It certainly helped that the Sixers took advantage of Embiid’s rushing game for the most part. They recorded 18 more points behind the arc than the Magic in the first quarter and increased their advantage to 40–25 on Harris triples.
fear of major injury
The score became secondary late in the second quarter when Embiid limped off after driving and making a layup.
Embiid immediately requested an exit and went back to the Sixers locker room.
With one minute left on the clock until the start of the third quarter, Embiid emerged. Thankfully for the Sixers, they were able to win their sixth game since returning from a left lateral meniscus injury.
“They evaluated him at halftime,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said. “No swelling, no damage, nothing like that. …He wanted to try the second part. And it was okay. Now, like we do with everybody in every game, we’ll make sure we reassess it tomorrow morning and see what happens. But you saw him; He seemed fine.”
Anyone even remotely familiar with the Sixers understands that Embiid needs to be available for the team to make a deep playoff run. After Friday’s win, the Sixers are 31-8 in Embiid’s presence this season and 15-27 without him.
Embiid decided to fire the first shot of the third quarter for the Sixers and performed very well, gaining the lead in the top three.
The Sixers kept going from there. Kyle Lowry built on his strong finish in the second period by providing a long-range assist to Harris and making a three, Maxey hit a corner jumper and the Sixers regained strong control of the game. They led by 17 points in the third quarter.
Maxi makes sure Sixers keep the magic going
Counting one Mo Bamba minute in the second quarter, the Sixers had six players come off the bench before garbage time.
They got several solid contributions from the second unit. Nicolas Batum was a stable sixth man. Buddy Hield hit two three-point shots and, outside of a bad turnover in the backcourt, made good decisions on both ends.
De’Anthony Melton only played five minutes and did not appear in the second half, but he had some attention-grabbing moments. The 25-year-old guard had two steals and knocked down a long triple at the end of the shot clock. We’ll see if he’s able to stay healthy in his latest attempt at a comeback from a lumbar spine injury.
The nurse said of Melton, “I thought he looked fine physically.” “Again, just got a 10-man rotation. … We tried to get Mo in there as well because we thought maybe he had a better matchup. I thought Kelly was playing great, Tyreese was playing great.
“Sometimes it’s hard to get him there. I sure would love to sit here and say that Melt got 15 minutes of time again tonight like we planned, but that didn’t happen tonight. But I thought he looked good, was moving well. Hopefully we will give him a chance on Sunday.
As expected, the Sixers could not pull off an easy win against a tough Magic team. Wagner’s fast-break layup cut their advantage to 104–97 early in the fourth quarter.
After a timeout by Nurse, Maxi scored some important buckets. Harris, who played strong defense all night on Banchero, also converted a put-back layup.
The Sixers’ half-court execution in the fourth wasn’t the cleanest, but Maxey continued to find timely offense and the team worked hard to prevent any threat of an Orlando comeback.
Maxey scored 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting in the final period.
“(Embiid) being out was obviously bad, but it was a blessing in disguise,” Maxey said. “It helped me grow up a bit and adapt to the role. … We know in what moments I have to get the ball and I can be aggressive. We’ve been working on it every day and it’s been great.”
