The Sixers got 31 points from Tyrese Maxey on Wednesday as they claimed the seventh seed in the East with a 109-97 win over the Magic. Maxey broke open a tight game by scoring seven straight points late in the fourth quarter to give Philadelphia a victory in front of its home fans. Orlando lost the opportunity to host the play-in matchup by falling to Boston on Sunday in the final game of the regular season.
Sixers players got a pre-game surprise as Joel Embiid greeted them in locker room for the first time since undergoing an emergency appendectomy last week in Houston, according to Dan Gelston of The Associated Press. There’s still no timetable for Embiid to return, but he felt well enough to watch Wednesday’s game from the bench.
Adem Bona got the start at center in place of Embiid, but veteran Andre Drummond had the more effective night, according to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports. Drummond finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, three steals and three blocks in nearly 32 minutes and helped to offset Orlando’s natural advantage on the boards. Drummond also went 2-of-3 from three-point range, and Neubeck observes that he has become more comfortable knocking down corner threes.
Rookie guard VJ Edgecombe contributed 19 points and 11 rebounds in his first postseason appearance and pushed the ball on the fast break several times in an otherwise slow game, Neubeck adds. He noted that Orlando’s vaunted defensive guards had trouble keeping up with Edgecombe when he reached full speed.
“I was tweaking a little bit tonight,” Edgecombe said (Twitter video link). “… I guess that happens when you let a kid play in such a high intensity game. I was out there having fun. If I gotta play wild for us to win, I’ll play wild.”
The Sixers’ victory sets up a first-round series against the Celtics, with Game 1 set for 1 pm ET on Sunday. The NBA announced that this will be the 23rd playoff meeting between the two teams, making it the most frequent matchup in NBA history.
The Magic will host the Hornets at 7:30 pm ET on Friday with the No. 8 seed in the East up for grabs. The winner will face the Pistons in the first round with the opening game set for 6:30 pm ET on Sunday.
So I don’t like their prospects, but the teams I’m rooting for in these playoffs are the Trailblazers and the Sixers. It’s a tough road but damned if they aren’t entertaining.
Celtics vs Sixers should be fun ….
Warriors with a nice win. Can’t believe they won.
Thunder own Clippers pick. Crazy right.
Thunder have like three #1 picks. Trade for Giannis. Get over with already.