Maxey Takes Over Late as Sixers Lock Up No. 7 Seed, Head to Boston
Tyrese Maxey just put the Philadelphia 76ers on his back when they needed him most. The All-Star starter scored 31 points, including seven straight late in the fourth quarter, to lead the Sixers past the Orlando Magic 109-97 on Wednesday night and secure the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. This is huge for Philly because they did it without Joel Embiid, who had an emergency appendectomy last week in Houston.
Embiid was back with the team Wednesday, which caught his teammates off guard when he popped into the locker room. The two-time scoring champion watched from the bench, but there's no word yet on when he'll actually be able to play. What we do know is that Maxey stepped up and delivered when the Magic got dangerous. Desmond Bane went off for 34 points and nearly brought Orlando back, hitting a 3 to pull them within two at 83-81. Then Anthony Black hit another 3 to make it 87-86. But Maxey had other ideas.
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Andre Drummond came off the bench and filled the massive gap left by Embiid with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Kelly Oubre Jr. added 19 points, and Paul George knocked down 16, including a fadeaway jumper in the third that stretched the lead to seven. George, who sat out 25 games earlier this season after failing a drug test, also made a nice play in the second half when he popped the ball free and dumped it to VJ Edgecombe for a dunk on Jalen Suggs. That sparked some serious beef, and Edgecombe got whistled for taunting. The refs had to step in and separate the teams.
What's Next
The Sixers are heading to Boston for a first-round series that kicks off Sunday against the second-seeded Celtics. Meanwhile, the Magic aren't done yet. Orlando will host the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night, with the winner grabbing the No. 8 seed and a date with the top-seeded Detroit Pistons. Bane, who averaged 20.1 points and played all 82 games this season, will be ready to go.
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