Looking to avoid losing a second straight home game to the red-hot Orlando Magic, the Sixers returned to the Wells Fargo Center floor on Friday night. This time, they had nine-time All-Star Paul George available. George, who had his best game as a Sixer on Tuesday night, leading the team to a road win against the Charlotte Hornets, missed the Sixers' close loss against Orlando on Wednesday as the Sixers managed George's left knee in light of his recent return from the second bone bruise he suffered in as many months.
Returning to action on top of George was veteran center Andre Drummond, who was ruled out for three games after suffering a right ankle sprain a week earlier. Drummond was listed as questionable for Friday's game, the first contest for which he could conceivably return — and ultimately did just that, giving Sixers head coach Nick Nurse the ability to add muscle down low.
George and Franz Wagner traded blows early on, with Orlando outscoring the Sixers by two points in the first quarter. The Sixers steamrolled Orlando in the second quarter, though, netting them a healthy lead at halftime. The Magic landed one heavy punch in the second half, but otherwise it was all Sixers, with George and KJ Martin carrying the largest workloads en route to an impressive victory against a very good adversary.
Here is what stood out from the Sixers' 102-94 win on Friday night:
Drummond's return allows Nurse to go big
The Magic are known for their tremendous size, which bothered the Sixers for much of Wednesday's game. With Drummond available, Nurse returned to a look he liked in a game against the Houston Rockets last month, starting Drummond next to Guerschon Yabusele. Yabusele, a power forward by trade, has mostly played center in his first season with the Sixers as a result of Joel Embiid's two extended absences. Nurse has continued to seek out opportunities for Yabusele to return to his natural position, and Drummond's return against a Magic team starting two traditional bigs in Wendell Carter Jr. and Goga Bitadze made it an easy decision for Nurse.
With Drummond and George returning to the starting five, KJ Martin and Jared McCain each headed to the bench, with Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. starting in the backcourt. Nurse's view appears to be that George's presence alongside Maxey in the starting five provides enough of a scoring threat to enable McCain to serve as a spark plug off the bench, which in turn gives the Sixers much greater defensive versatility around Maxey and George — hence the decision to go with Oubre over McCain, the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for October/November, who had looked terrific in his last three games.
George, Wagner control the action early
The first few minutes of this game were all about George, who took all four of the Sixers' shots across their first three possessions and knocked down a pair of mid-range jumpers to kick things off:
smooooth like 🧈. pic.twitter.com/bBS2f3OUAt
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 7, 2024
George also had total control over the tempo of the game, handling the ball quite a bit and — only after his barrage of early shots — looking to facilitate. George is not consistently accurate enough to be a solo offensive engine, but he is skilled enough to make impressive plays as a drive-and-kick player. He did just that to set up an early three for Maxey and an and-one post-up basket for Yabusele during his first five-minute stint of the game.
Wagner, Orlando's blossoming star whose 35 points were critical in their victory on Wednesday, picked up right where he left off in this one, scoring 15 points in nine minutes and change to begin the game. He knocked down three triples, and for the second straight game, did whatever he wanted against all sorts of unique defensive coverages thrown in his direction by Nurse.
Martin provides a major early spark
Martin was the Sixers' first frontcourt reserve to check into the game — notably ahead of Caleb Martin — and the fifth-year forward continued his recent stretch of solid play with his most productive offensive quarter of the season.
KJ Martin scored 10 first-quarter points, shooting 4-for-4 from the field, 1-for-1 from beyond the arc via a corner triple and 1-for-1 at the free throw line. The excellent stretch started off with this awkward and-one finish on a drive:
and 1 for number 1️⃣! pic.twitter.com/wXD7KJ4JZW
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 7, 2024
Aside from his triple, KJ Martin's scoring surge was sparked by several transition opportunities. Given his elite athleticism, he can be a real weapon in that setting, and he improved his line to 12 points on perfect 5-for-5 shooting with this transition finish early in the second quarter:
and 1 for number 1️⃣! pic.twitter.com/wXD7KJ4JZW
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 7, 2024
KJ Martin continues to give the Sixers quality two-way minutes whenever opportunity comes his way.
MORE: KJ Martin, Maxey look to master two-man game
Sixers pull ahead with terrific opening to second quarter
The Sixers outscored Orlando 14-3 in the first five minutes and 51 seconds of the second quarter, thanks to a phenomenal two-way stretch that began while Wagner remained on the floor. When an opposing player is rolling the way Wagner has been, it is essential to win the minutes in which they are resting, and the Sixers crushed Orlando during that period in the first half.
Drummond logged 15 minutes in the first half and scored five points while grabbing eight rebounds. Drummond also nabbed three steals in what turned into one of his better halves of play all season.
He completely set the tone for the quarter, opening it by bullying Franz's older brother, Mo Wagner, for an easy layup, then swiping the ball away from Wagner and igniting a possession that would end with Drummond battling on the offensive glass and drawing a foul:
Dre all day. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/H6siLJguSB
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 7, 2024
Finally, Orlando head coach Jamahl Mosley called a timeout after George punctuated the run with his first triple of the game — and let out an ensuing scream for good measure:
https://t.co/9Aw1MtJpcI pic.twitter.com/C569m7ww4Y
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 7, 2024
Noticeably absent from the run was Ricky Council IV, who was out of Nurse's regular rotation. Council had two stellar games to end November, but was less impressive in two games since. With George and Drummond returning to the rotation, Nurse had to either remove Council or Kyle Lowry from his rotation or expand to a 10-man group. When Caleb Martin went to the locker room nursing a hurt ankle late in the opening frame, it was the veteran floor general Lowry who checked in. (Caleb Martin returned to the game midway through the second quarter).
In seven first-half minutes, Lowry did not score a point or even attempt a shot. He did not collect a single rebound. The 38-year-old also got called for two fouls. But he did notch a pair of assists, and the Sixers outscored Orlando by 13 points during his minutes.
George caps off terrific all-around first half, making up for Maxey's inability to find a rhythm
George scored a dozen points in the first half, but it was only fitting that he finished off an excellent second quarter with a drive and dump-off assist to Yabusele. It was George's sixth assist to go with four rebounds and a team-best +16:
🎱 ➡️ 2️⃣8️⃣ pic.twitter.com/oGFg7K8tjE
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 7, 2024
George did have a pair of turnovers on ambitious passes in the first half, but that comes with the territory when it comes to George. His performance in this first half was largely strong, which helped make up for the fact that Maxey was nowhere to be found: Maxey's early triple on his first shot attempt was the only shot he made prior to intermission, as he posted three points, zero assists and zero rebounds on 1-of-4 shooting from the floor in 15 minutes.
Third quarter turns into a slow slugfest, but Sixers find juice and make a late push
The Sixers had absolutely nothing offensively out of the locker room, scoring just five points in the first six minutes and change of action in the third quarter before Nurse allowed his team to regroup with a much-needed timeout. This sort of horrific offensive stretch would usually sink a team immediately, but the Sixers kept themselves ahead with solid defensive effort (admittedly aided by a subpar offensive stretch on Orlando's part).
Maxey and George each struggled to score the ball, and none of their supporting cast members could fill in any of the gaps. But with their defensive intensity, the Sixers did enough to prevent Orlando from taking control. Then came some offensive life for the Sixers and a significant close to the quarter with gave them excellent positioning entering the final frame.
The Sixers led the Magic, 59-57, with about three minutes remaining in the third quarter. Oubre knocked down his first three of the game, a much-needed triple which represented Maxey's first assist of the game. Then McCain missed a transition layup, but KJ Martin followed it up with a strong put-back slam:
got a present from KMart! 🎁 pic.twitter.com/PvI7iFWZF7
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 7, 2024
Maxey, who express frustration with the officiating crew throughout the game, broke through a gap and scored an and-one at the rim. (Maxey did miss at the free throw line, where the Sixers once again struggled quite a bit.) The Sixers were able to carry a 12-point lead into the fourth quarter.
On the ropes, Magic land a haymaker
George knocked down his second triple of the game at the 10:25 mark of the fourth quarter, giving the Sixers a 78-61 lead — the 17-point deficit being a game-high:
side-step. swish. pic.twitter.com/xqNbYsS3OF
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 7, 2024
The Sixers were perhaps one more blow from putting the Magic to bed, but Mosley's team showed impressive fortitude in the face of adversity.
The Magic staged a 10-0 run, a spurt in which they scored on four consecutive possessions while also forcing three misses and a turnover. Nurse's five-man unit of Lowry, McCain, George, KJ Martin and Drummond was thoroughly outplayed for three minutes and 40 seconds, so he wisely called for a timeout and brought Maxey back into the game.
Sixers create separation and put game away thanks to George's calming presence
As he has during the wins he has been part of, George served as an example of how the Sixers can maintain calm, cool and collected in the face of pressure. With the Sixers on the verge of blowing a significant lead, George casually knocked down a mid-range jumper out of the timeout, then assisted on another KJ Martin bucket, drew a foul, knocked down a pair of free throws, and drove and dished to Yabusele for a crucial three.
With his timely scoring and consistent playmaking, George looked every bit like the player the Sixers believed they were signing to a four-year, $212 million max contract over the summer. He led them to a strong win against an excellent opponent in this one, as the Sixers improved to 6-15 on the season.
Up next: The Sixers will have four days off to begin next week. First, though, they will board a weekend flight to Chicago and face the Bulls on Sunday afternoon.
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