Joel Embiid, 76ers Get Payback vs. Magic With Wednesday Night Win

On Wednesday night, the Philadelphia 76ers closed out their four-game regular season series against the Orlando Magic.

Back in November, the shorthanded Sixers pulled off two victories against the Magic on the road. As a result, the Sixers were heavily favored to take the cake in Monday’s matchup in South Philly.

However, the Magic stunned the Sixers at the Wells Fargo Center. Despite trailing by over 20 points in the first half, the Magic put together an impressive second-half run, which helped them establish a ten-point victory over the Sixers and snap Philly’s seven-game win streak.

Wednesday’s game offered the Sixers an opportunity to bounce back.

Quarter Breakdown

1st Quarter

As expected, the questionable Joel Embiid was cleared for action once again. Although they were fully healthy, the Sixers came out looking like the second-half version of themselves from the last game, which wasn’t an ideal start.

Once again, the Sixers were visibly frustrated with early fouls called against them. Mixed with early foul struggles, the Sixers also had a tough time slowing down Magic veteran Gary Harris early on. Taking three shots from beyond the arc, Harris was perfect from three and scored nine points in the first five minutes. A lot of their points beyond that came in the paint.

As the quarter winded down, the Sixers started getting some foul calls in their favor. As a team, they drained all 12 of their free throws as a team. Joel Embiid was responsible for eight of their free throws. Although the Sixers and the Magic traded baskets in the first quarter, Philadelphia put together a 17-0 run to end the quarter with a 37-23 lead.

2nd Quarter

The Sixers found success with Joel Embiid on the floor for the entire first quarter, as he produced 16 of their 37 points. In the second quarter, the Sixers expectedly rolled with Montrezl Harrell as Embiid’s backup, but within the first couple of minutes, Harrell’s struggles forced Doc Rivers into a different direction.

With a little under ten minutes to go in the second quarter, Paul Reed got the nod to come in and play. Although Rivers made it a key adjustment, the Sixers still struggled on both ends of the floor as the Magic put together a 12-2 run to begin cutting into Philly’s notable lead.

Some careless turnovers from the Sixers allowed the Magic to keep the momentum going on the offensive end. With roughly two minutes left to go in the first half, the once 14-point lead by the Sixers was within five. Philly kept their lead going into halftime, but a buzzer-beater layup from Markelle Fultz helped the Magic get the game within three points.

The Sixers led 56-53 at halftime.

3rd Quarter

Doc Rivers noted that he wanted to see the Sixers play all four quarters before Wednesday’s game. After dealing with a second-half let-down due to a lack of physicality in Monday’s game, the Sixers needed to make a statement in the final two quarters of Wednesday’s game.

The Sixers and the Magic traded baskets throughout the third quarter. The Sixers’ 11-6 run with a little over six minutes left to go in the quarter allowed Philadelphia to establish an 80-72 lead sending the Magic into a timeout to re-group.

While Philadelphia shot much better in the third quarter, knocking down 50 percent of their shots, the Magic got themselves more opportunities by putting up 26 shots from the field compared to Philadelphia’s 18 attempts. Also, the Sixers’ struggles to take care of the ball hurt them, as they coughed it up eight times, allowing the Magic to generate ten points off turnovers.

The Sixers maintained their lead, but the Magic had the game within four points going into the fourth quarter.

4th Quarter

After getting the game within four points before heading into the final quarter of action, the Magic came out firing in the opening minute as Jalen Suggs hit a running three-pointer to get the game within one point. However, Shake Milton quickly answered on the other end, hitting a three-pointer of his own.

Shortly after, the Sixers started putting together a quick run. Off two Magic misses, Philadelphia benefitted from a step-back jumper from beyond the arc from James Harden and a Tobias Harris running layup. While the Sixers failed to build on their forming run right away as they turned the ball over on their next offensive possession, they sent Orlando into a timeout with a little over seven minutes to go as Tyrese Maxey nailed a three-pointer, capping off an 8-0 run.

Orlando’s Fultz stopped the bleeding a bit by grabbing an immediate bucket coming out of the timeout, but Georges Niang answered back on the other end with a quick three-pointer. With a little over five minutes left in the game, the Sixers trotted out their star big man Embiid.

Entering the game, Embiid led Philly’s offense with 28 points. As he’s been the Sixers’ most reliable closer throughout the year, it was clear they would try to rely on Embiid to put the game away. However, James Harden and Tyrese Maxey were the ones putting up late-game points to help the Sixers expand their lead to get the score out of reach for the Magic.

While the Sixers once again showed struggles against a young, lengthy, and energetic Magic team, they made it out of Wednesday's game with a victory this time around as they defeated Orlando 105-95.