Shorthanded Magic Make Big Plays Late to Outlast 76ers

The Orlando Magic outscored the Philadelphia 76ers 31-22 in the fourth quarter Sunday night to earn a 104-99 victory at the Kia Center.

Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George (8) shoots over Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony (50) during the first quarter at Kia Center. | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

ORLANDO, Fla. – By halftime Sunday, the Orlando Magic's roster of available players had dwindled from 10 to eight.

Before the game, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs, Moe Wagner, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Gary Harris and Jett Howard were already unavailable. Then starters Tristan da Silva (illness) and Goga Bitadze (right hip contusion) saw early exits.

And still, the Magic gutted out a 104-99 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers that ranked among the most "impressive" that coach Jamahl Mosley had seen this season.

"It's grit. It's all about the grit," Mosley said postgame. "We're just relentless. No matter what's happening within the game, continuing to play, fight, [and] make the right plays. Each person stepped up in their own way.

"[We] found a way to will ourselves to that game."

The Magic also won the season series with the Sixers and will control any tiebreaker scenario in the postseason seedings. After falling out of fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings Friday, Orlando (23-18) reclaimed the last home-court advantage spot thanks to its own win and Milwaukee's lopsided loss at New York.

Despite shooting just 7-of-14 at the free throw line through three quarters and turning the ball over 13 times for 25 Philadelphia points, Orlando trailed by just four. The Magic then flipped the script with a 31-22 fourth quarter.

In the final 12 minutes, they were better about holding onto the ball and converted 12 of 14 free throws.

"That's part of the grit," Mosley said. "You say, okay, you're not making them in [earlier] moments, but you put that behind you and you focus on the moment when you need to knock them down."

Cole Anthony led Magic scorers with 27 points. The fifth-year guard dueled with 2020 draft classmate Tyrese Maxey (29 points) all night long. Without Joel Embiid, Maxey and Paul George (25 points, 18 in second half) combined for 54 of Philadelphia's total.

"That's a great win," Anthony said. "It wasn't [just] one person. It was A.B. (Anthony Black), T.Q. (Trevelin Queen), Judah (Jonathan Isaac), P, Caleb (Houstan), Co-Jo (Cory Joseph), Dell (Wendell Carter Jr.); Literally every person on the team who was active tonight helped us win that game. That's the ultimate group effort, so big shoutout to everybody."

"I really feel like if you look up grit, toughness [and] determination in the dictionary, we're going to be there," Isaac said. "We just put it together, you know?"

With 20 points (13 in the fourth quarter) and 11 rebounds (seven in the fourth), Isaac logged his first double-double since December 2019.

Second-year guard Anthony Black had 17 points. Trevelin Queen scored only four points, but all came in the final 12 minutes, as well as four crucial rebounds.

The Magic reserves outscored the Sixers' bench 48-11. In game 41 of the Magic's season, Banchero was the only Game 1 starter to close Sunday's contest.

In his second game since returning from injury, Banchero filled up a stat line with 20 points (eight in the fourth quarter), eight rebounds, and six assists in 27 minutes. Per StatMamba, he has the third-most 20-5-5 games by a forward before turning 23 years old in NBA history, trailing only LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Banchero had six of the 12 made free throws, but his one field goal with 29 seconds left — a pullup midrange jumper that came after one of Isaac's five offensive rebounds — helped ice the victory.

EXTRA POSSESSIONS WIN GAMES 😤

Trevelin Queen's board and Paolo's pull-up secure the victory for Orlando! pic.twitter.com/arlsMVxYrZ

— NBA (@NBA) January 13, 2025

"It's just exciting to be out there late in the game, when the game's in the balance. That's when I want to make an impact," Banchero said. "It wasn't just me, though. It was a lot of different guys making plays."

Up Next

Orlando hits the road to play the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night. Tipoff is 8 p.m. ET at Fiserv Forum.

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