Tyrese Maxey and the Philadelphia 76ers are moving on to Boston.
Maxey scored a team-high 31 points to lead the Sixers to a 109-97 victory over the Orlando Magic in the Play-In Tournament on Wednesday. Philadelphia secured the Eastern Conference’s No. 7 seed and advanced to face the No. 2-seeded Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
Maxey led five Sixers in double-figure scoring. Kelly Oubre Jr. and VJ Edgecombe scored 19 points apiece, Paul George had 16 points and Andre Drummond added 14 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots off the bench, including a corner 3 that put the game out of reach.
Desmond Bane scored a game-high 34 points to lead the Magic, while Orlando stars Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner struggled to find their rhythm. The duo combined for just 30 points on 12-of-33 shooting and went 0 of 7 on their 3-point attempts.
Orlando will play the Charlotte Hornets at home on Friday in a win-or-go-home game. The winner will advance to take on the East’s No. 1-seeded Detroit Pistons.
The ‘VJ Max’ era is upon us
With Wednesday night’s Play-In game on the line, Maxey and Edgecombe proved why they have a chance to be one of the best backcourts in the NBA — and in the near future at that.
Their numbers — 31 points and 6 assists for Maxey, 19 points and 11 rebounds from Edgecombe — are one thing. But their collective impact goes well beyond those statistics.
When the Magic threatened in the fourth quarter, cutting Philadelphia’s lead to 87-86 on an Anthony Black 3-pointer, Maxey put the game away by scoring seven consecutive points. Defensively, Edgecombe was dominant, consistently creating turnovers, finding deflections and causing havoc with Orlando’s offense.
Without Joel Embiid, who is recovering from appendicitis, it’s clear how much talent Maxey and Edgecombe possess as a duo. They have rare athleticism on both ends of the ball. They play off each other seamlessly. They can both take games over offensively when needed. If the Sixers have any hope of beating the Celtics in a first-round series that starts Sunday afternoon, it will be Maxey and Edgecombe who have to put the 76ers on their backs.
It certainly won’t be an easy task. But, the Sixers have a backcourt that can lead a franchise now and into the future. — Tony Jones, senior 76ers writer
No help for Orlando’s best player
The Magic are now one game away from elimination because their big offseason acquisition showed up in his biggest game yet for the team. The problem is they got little else from everyone else.
Desmond Bane had 34 points and tried to keep the Magic in it in the second half and did. But at some point, it wasn’t enough.
Paolo Banchero, ostensibly the Magic’s best player, missed 15 of 22 shots, committed six turnovers and slowed down Orlando’s offense. Franz Wagner has just 12 points. Bane hit four 3s, and the rest of the team hit just three total.
Orlando will need more from everyone against the Hornets. — Mike Vorkunov, national NBA writer
The Magic look doomed
The Magic are headed back to Orlando for a winner-take-all Play-In game Friday night, and even though they went 25-15 at home this season, it’s difficult to be optimistic about their chances.
Orlando won its first game this season against Charlotte, but the Hornets then won the next three in dominating fashion: 120-105, 124-97 and 130-111.
The Hornets have the power of self-confidence, fueled by their strong uptick since January and their Play-In victory Tuesday night. The Magic played hard on Wednesday, but they’re a team that simply cannot count on its half-court offense.
Speaking of offense, Orlando needs a totally new approach there to settle once and for all whether Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner can coexist. It’s all but certain the Magic will fire Jamahl Mosley whenever their postseason ends. It’s also all but certain the team needs to add far more outside shooting this offseason to complement Banchero and Wagner’s games, but that was obvious after the Magic’s last two first-round exits. Desmond Bane has been an excellent addition, but even with him on the court, the Magic just don’t have anywhere near enough outside shooting to make a postseason run — and perhaps not even enough to get out of this year’s Play-In. ‒ Josh Robbins, senior NBA writer.