Maxey pours in 31 as 76ers dismiss Magic, clinch East’s No. 7 seed
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PHILADELPHIA — Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points and the Philadelphia 76ers overcame Joel Embiid’s absence to beat the Orlando Magic 109-97 on Wednesday night, securing the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The victory sends Philadelphia into a first-round series that opens Sunday against the second-seeded Boston Celtics.
VJ Edgecombe contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Andre Drummond supplied 14 points and 10 boards off the bench. Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 19 points and Paul George added 16.
Embiid, who underwent an emergency appendectomy last week in Houston, rejoined the team Wednesday and watched from the bench. The club has not announced a timetable for the two-time scoring champion’s return.
Maxey, a first-time Eastern Conference All-Star starter, delivered seven consecutive points late in the fourth quarter to give Philadelphia breathing room after Orlando had trimmed the deficit to one.
Desmond Bane, who played all 82 games and averaged 20.1 points, kept the Magic close with 34 points. His three-pointer cut the gap to 83-81, and Anthony Black later connected from deep to make it 87-86, but Orlando never pulled even.
George’s third-quarter fadeaway extended the margin to seven, prompting a Magic timeout. Moments later, the veteran forward poked the ball loose, then fed Edgecombe for a dunk over Jalen Suggs that pushed the lead to 73-62. Edgecombe was assessed a taunting technical after the play, and officials separated the teams.
Orlando still has a path to the postseason. The Magic will host the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night, with the winner taking the No. 8 seed and a first-round meeting with the top-seeded Detroit Pistons.
Source: ESPN
