Without Joel Embiid available, the Sixers avoided a two-game home sweep at the hands of the Orlando Magic on Friday night. Two players led the way: Embiid's new co-star Paul George, whose 21 points and nine assists each led the team, and KJ Martin, who played 31 minutes off the bench and scored 20 points on 9-for-10 shooting from the field in the 102-94 win.
A fresh batch of postgame quotes from George, Martin and Sixers head coach Nick Nurse on the team's strongest win of 2024-25:
MORE: Sixers-Magic recap
• George on how the team was able to hold off a pair of runs the Magic made in the fourth quarter:
"I thought we got stops. That unit that closed out that third quarter out with Tyrese [Maxey], they got hot. Tyrese made some big baskets. A couple of plays downhill where he was able to get to the rim. He got some efficient looks for us. And again, it jut came down to some good stops to close the third quarter out."
• George on his memories of briefly being teammates with Martin at the beginning of last season and what has jumped out to him about Martin in Philadelphia:
"Yeah, I mean, he's still young as sh*t. I think he was 21, 22 then. He's 23 now. But I think he's comfortable with this group. He's found his rhythm and he's being aggressive, you know? He's got the tools. He's a great defender, he can rebound, he can shoot the ball. He can do a little bit of everything. He's a real utility guy that can kind of plug and play multiple positions. He's finding his way, and I think what we love is he's just being aggressive."
• George on whether the Sixers' sense of continuity and familiarity has increased in recent weeks :
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think there's just a consistency, familiarity with one another. We kind of know what to expect, we know what we're doing out there on the floor. And there's just a flow now. There's a flow that we can get to our plays, we get to our spots, and everybody knows where they're at on the floor. I think we just had through a lot of games. This is a new group to start out. We just had to get some games under our belts to kind of iron out the wrinkles. Now, we kind of know who we are."
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• Martin on the gratification he feels from the work he put into his improved shooting form over the summer now that it has led to improved production:
"It's helped a lot. I put a lot of time into it. And me putting in the work versus me actually having the confidence, those were two different things — where I have the confidence to understand the work I put in. Each night, I just try to go out and play as hard as I possibly can, play at a high level and have my teammates' backs. That's why I've been successful. Just tying to get my teammates open and being a major voice on the defensive end."
• Martin on the impact his 20-point game can have on his confidence:
"It helps a lot. I try not to get too high or too low. I'm just trying to stay level. But it feels good to go out and play well, and most of all, really getting a win. That's the biggest thing."
• Martin on his recollections of the time he spent with George and conversations the two of them had when George arrived in Philadelphia:
"I was in LA with Paul, so we had that training camp together, the summer and obviously a little bit from the beginning of the season. So once he signed here, it was easy for him to talk to me, and he understood I was here last year, so I could communicate with him [about] what we're trying to do. At the same time, I always tell him to be him… on offense, put the ball in the bucket, on the defensive end, do what you do."
• Martin on how George's mere presence can open things up for the Sixers' offense:
"Even from when we played Wednesday versus [Orlando] to today, you just feel a big difference. I mean, a couple times during the game we ran the play and we just threw it in the post to him and let him [isolate]. We threw it to him one time and I cut down the middle because they have to double-team. So they double-teamed, I went and got a layup. We ran the same play again, we threw the ball to him, and then they didn't want to double-team because they knew I was cutting and then he got a bucket. So having him on the floor, he obviously brings a lot of attention, kind of like Joel, and helps everybody else get opportunities to cut, score or take open shots."
• Nurse on the most important element George brings to the Sixers:
"Just the ability to create offense. He can take shots, he can draw multiple defenders in the post… He's able to score in multiple ways. He's good in some isolations, he's good on pin-downs, we threw him in the post there for a while, ended up passing the first one out for a layup and then scoring the next one. The big thing is when you can shake somebody down and look them in the eye and nail a three…. To have a guy that can do that is important."
• Nurse on Martin's performance:
"Huge. Awesome. He got some really long run because he was in the right place at the right time. Enables us to switch because he can guard big and on the perimeter. But again, really good job of finding openings on the cuts and going up for some difficult passes at the rim and finding a way to get them in the bucket."
MORE: Maxey, Martin mastering two-man game
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