Shake Milton, Tobias Harris Dominate as 76ers Defeat Magic
Despite going into Friday night’s matchup against the Orlando Magic as shorthanded underdogs, the Philadelphia 76ers snagged a win in the first of two battles at the Amway Center against Orlando.
On Sunday, the two teams met once again. Both teams were shorthanded, as expected. Although the Magic believed they could get a key reinforcement in Markelle Fultz back in the mix, the veteran guard’s season debut was put on hold for another matchup.
As for the Sixers, they missed their star center Joel Embiid and the starting backcourt duo of James Harden and Tyrese Maxey. In addition, the reserves Jaden Springer and Matisse Thybulle sat out as well.
Despite having a lack of their usual star power, the Sixers continued thriving on Sunday night. In the first quarter of action, Philadelphia outscored Orlando 36-32.
Sixers forward Tobias Harris helped lead the pack by going 3-4 from the field, scoring nine points in seven minutes. De’Anthony Melton and Furkan Korkmaz helped contribute offensively as they combined for 13 of Philadelphia’s first-quarter points.
While the matchup started tight with a high-scoring offensive showing by both teams in the first quarter, the Sixers dominated the second quarter of the matchup, which set the tone for the rest of the game.
The veteran guard Shake Milton came alive playing in the entire second quarter. After scoring just two points in his first seven minutes on the court, Milton went 4-4 from the field, 2-2 from the line, and knocked down two shots from beyond the arc to score 12 points for the Sixers before halftime.
By holding the Magic to just 21 percent from the field, the Sixers outscored Orlando by 18 points before the intermission. Going into halftime, the Sixers possessed a 67-45 lead.
Injuries affected Philadelphia once again in the second half. As the veteran forward PJ Tucker continued to deal with ankle soreness, the Sixers ruled him out for the entire second half. Without Tucker’s defensive toughness, the Sixers still continued to thrive on both ends.
By draining nearly 70 percent of their shots in the third quarter, the 76ers outscored the Magic 32-26. As the end of the game approached, the Sixers offered their two-way players some minutes, giving some of the key veterans an early night off.
By outscoring Orlando once more in the fourth quarter, the Sixers wrapped up the two-game series with another dominant win.
Sixers guard Shake Milton led the team in scoring with a season-high of 29 points. The veteran forward Tobias Harris was right behind Milton with 25 points on 10-14 shooting from the field.
After picking up the 133-103 victory, the Sixers advanced to 11-9 on the year. They’ll travel back to Philadelphia on Sunday night and will have a quick turnaround as they are set to face the Atlanta Hawks for the second time this season on Monday.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
