It took six weeks, but the Philadelphia 76ers have finally managed to win two games in a row.
On Wednesday night, the 76ers will aim for their third straight win when they play the Orlando Magic at home in the first of two matchups this week.
Fatigue could be a factor for both teams. The 76ers are still without Joel Embiid (knee) and are traveling back to Philadelphia after playing in Charlotte on Tuesday night. The Magic, on the other hand, just finished a five-day trip to New York, all while missing their star forward Paolo Banchero (oblique). The Magic will also play on back-to-back nights in different cities.
Before losing to the Knicks by 15 points on Tuesday, the Magic had won six games in a row. The last two victories were on the road against the Brooklyn Nets, where the Magic allowed an average of 96 points per game.
However, they gave up 121 points against the Knicks, their most allowed since the third game of the season. New York shot over 50 percent from the field and nearly 43 percent from the 3-point line. Additionally, 16 turnovers by Orlando didn’t help their cause.
“It’s hard to win a game when you turn the ball over 16 times for 32 points. You’re just giving points away,” said Magic coach Jamahl Mosley. He also added, “You have to flush this one. Obviously you take the lessons from it and … you look at that for (Wednesday) night.”
Franz Wagner led Orlando with 30 points and six assists, bouncing back from a poor shooting performance (4-of-17) on Sunday against Brooklyn.
“Franz continues to make his case for being an All-Star,” Mosley said about the 23-year-old forward.
As for the 76ers, they’ve struggled without Embiid, who is still dealing with knee pain. Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said it’s unlikely Embiid will play on Wednesday.
“We’ll check on Joel,” Nurse said. “I don’t have any real update for you. Don’t expect him to play (Wednesday), but I wouldn’t rule it out yet, either.”
Luckily for Nurse, his team has two other All-Star players in Tyrese Maxey and Paul George. Maxey scored the last 11 points for the 76ers in their 110-104 win at Charlotte on Tuesday, helping the team secure their fifth win in 19 games this season.
“That’s the way to fight, man. We’ve been talking about it all year,” Maxey said. “There’ve been times where we got hit in the mouth, laid down, let teams win games. … Charlotte tried to do it to us tonight. But we were resilient. Guys made plays, made free throws down the stretch, and we won the game.”
George matched his season-high with 29 points after averaging just 11 points in his previous four games.
“This is a great win,” George said. “This is another building block for something special that we’re doing now.”
The 76ers and Magic last played on Nov. 15 in Orlando, where Wagner scored 31 points to lead the Magic to a 98-86 win. The teams will face each other again on Friday night in Philadelphia.
