Fresh off a thrilling road victory against the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night, the Sixers returned to action on their home floor on Wednesday against a terrific young Orlando Magic team. However, not only did Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond remain out, but Paul George was in street clothes the night after a 29-point masterpiece in Charlotte which represented his best work as a Sixer. Veteran point Kyle Lowry, who returned from a lengthy absence in Charlotte, also had the night off, leaving Sixers head coach Nick Nurse without many options.
The undermanned Sixers faced an Orlando team firing on all cylinders thanks to the continued ascent of Franz Wagner, who had led the charge for a Magic team which has navigated the absence of All-Star forward Paolo Banchero and thrived in the face of adversity.
After a dozen minutes, this looked like another game in which the Sixers would be throughly manhandled on both ends of the floor. Instead, they responded with an impressive two-way showing in the second quarter to even things up. The teams broke even in the third quarter when Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month Jared McCain went bucket for bucket with Wagner.
In the fourth quarter, however, Wagner refused to let Orlando lose a game they should not have lost. He had far more answers for the Sixers than the Sixers had for him, and led the Magic to a hard-fought victory. Here is what stood out from the Sixers' 106-102 loss against the Magic:
Nurse has to change his starting five again
With George sidelined and Nurse believing his starting lineup needed infusions of shooting and scoring, McCain returned to the starting shooting guard role, sharing the backcourt with Tyrese Maxey.
Nurse stuck with Kelly Oubre Jr. and KJ Martin on the wing — citing Oubre's recent stretch of impressive scoring efficiency and Martin's ability to accommodate several schemes on both ends of the floor — which relegated Caleb Martin to a reserve role for the second straight night. With Embiid and Drummond unavailable, Guerschon Yabusele started in the middle, where he has logged most of his minutes this season.
It was a small Sixers lineup against any opponent, let alone a massive Orlando team which often takes advantage of undersized units. The Sixers hung in there during the opening minutes of the game, but it was clear that they were being overwhelmed by Orlando's physicality.
As a result…
Nurse makes a quick pivot, but it falls flat
Nurse has long wanted to give Yabusele consistent minutes at power forward, but the constant need for the 28-year-old to fill in at the five has made it impossible. Yabusele had a strong start, scoring seven points on 3-of-3 shooting in the first quarter, including a triple — which had to feel good after posting an 0-for-6 line from beyond the arc the night before. Yabusele also displayed his unique off-the-dribble scoring chops with an end-of-shot-clock drive and score:
Yabu to the hoop! pic.twitter.com/4pdju9KLWh
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 5, 2024
Facing Orlando's enormous strength, Nurse brought temporary backup center Adem Bona into the game early and slid Yabusele down to the four. The adjustment made Orlando's size advantage less significant, but the Magic struck gold with an offensive heater led by Wagner's 11 points in the opening frame.
Bona's energy was terrific — he revived two Sixers possessions in seven minutes to begin his night — but Nurse's emphasis on muscle did cost the Sixers in the form of reduced half-court offensive efficiency. Maxey had yet another slow start from the field, with less space to operate near the end of the frame.
It all coalesced into an ugly opening quarter for the Sixers, who trailed Orlando 34-22 heading into the second quarter.
Sixers second unit offense finds a spark to inch closer
The Sixers' offense surged early in the second quarter, with McCain leading the way via a barrage of buckets:
Jared McCain finishes the first half with a team-high 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting. pic.twitter.com/FOM3SH4ekt
— Dan Olinger (@dan_olinger) December 5, 2024
Nurse opened the second quarter with Caleb and KJ Martin, Yabusele, McCain and point guard Reggie Jackson on the floor. Jackson was not in the team's rotation in Charlotte, but with Lowry and George out, Nurse needed to add at least one person into the mix. Jackson was the choice over veteran sharpshooter Eric Gordon, who has not exactly lived up to his billing with what has been by far the worst three-point shooting season of his impressive NBA career.
It is fair to wonder if Nurse has run out of patience for Gordon's weaknesses in areas beyond three-point shooting given his inability to perform well in the one facet of the game he has always thrived in. So, Jackson was used for his additional ball-handling, and the veteran did also knock down a three.
Terrific close to strong second quarter ties game entering halftime
Nurse's team had a bit more trouble generating good offense down the stretch of the first half, but their defense held very strong against an Orlando team which is very flawed offensively, especially without Banchero. It did not result in steals and blocks in the box score, but the Sixers' cohesion enabled plenty of much-needed stops and, as a result, chances to keep inching closer despite a bit of offensive stagnancy.
Suddenly, the Sixers had tied the game entering intermission. After outscoring the Magic 31-19 in the second quarter, the game was knotted at 53 as the teams returned to their locker rooms. McCain led all scorers for his team, while six different Sixers had multiple assists prior to the break. That included Yabusele, who had a terrific drive and dish to Oubre for a dunk:
a DIME & a DUNK. pic.twitter.com/VakxSesbgh
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 5, 2024
Oubre did not take nearly as many shots in the first half as Nurse predicted he would before the game, but he continued to score efficiently, shooting 3-of-6 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.
Wagner and McCain trade blows in competitive third quarter
Both teams had strong moments and sequences during the third quarter of this one — McCain had a pair of buckets, as did Caleb Martin, who capitalized on a pair of free throw misses with a transition bucket that nobody noticed because the entire crowd was celebrating their collective right to free chicken.
For Orlando, Wagner continued to lead the way no matter what the Sixers threw at him defensively. Oubre was the player tasked with guarding the 23-year-old star the most, but Caleb Martin handled the assignment quite a bit as well, and Orlando did a good job of targeting smaller Sixers defenders such as Maxey and McCain to make life easier on their best player.
Wagner helped Orlando pull in front for the final moments of the third quarter, reaching the 25-point mark. But McCain, who entered the final frame with 21 points on just 12 shot attempts, helped the Sixers break even with a gorgeous fake that netted a corner triple:
Jared McCain with the triple to tie the game headed into the final frame!
We got ourselves a back-and-forth battle here in South Philadelphia tonight. pic.twitter.com/PcZIQHnR2H— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) December 5, 2024
This was McCain's eighth 20-plus-point game of the season, which according to the Sixers is twice as much as any other NBA rookie.
And so, the Sixers and Magic entered the final frame of this one tied.
Magic pull ahead with crucial run to begin fourth quarter
The Sixers' lineup of McCain, Oubre, Ricky Council IV, Caleb Martin and Yabusele was on the wrong end of a critical surge to begin the fourth quarter, as Orlando outscored the Sixers 10-2 in two minutes and change to force a Nurse timeout. Wagner and his older brother, Mo, combined to score eight of those 10 points, giving Orlando a massive advantage and the game winded down.
Wagner continually exploited the Sixers' defense — no matter how many times it changed its form in hopes of flustering him — and having the best player on the floor goes a long way for any team.
Sixers battle, but fall short of late comeback
Threes from Yabusele and Oubre brought the Sixers within four and ignited the crowd once again, but Orlando extended its lead all the way back to double-digits. McCain's third triple of the game kept the Sixers within arm's reach, but the short-handed Sixers could just not muster the sort of late-game offensive explosion which would have been required to overcome the onslaught of Wagner — even with Maxey briefly staging a surge in the final moments, just as he did in Charlotte the night before, to give the Sixers a chance at a game-tying shot on the final possession. But Maxey missed on a difficult, rushed runner, and that was all she wrote.
The Sixers nearly upset a terrific team, but without Embiid and George, there was just not enough offensive firepower against what very well may be the Eastern Conference's best defense.
Up next: Orlando will stick around for a rematch, as the Sixers and Magic will face off on the very same Wells Fargo Center floor on Friday night. Then, the Sixers will be off to Chicago for a Sunday afternoon game against the Bulls.
Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdam
Follow PhillyVoice on Twitter: @thephillyvoice
