By: Kylan Watson

The Philadelphia 76ers started a two-game series against the Orlando Magic tonight and they were riding a two-game winning streak. Both teams traded buckets throughout this contest and thanks to a Franz Wagner scoring explosion, Orlando was able to beat Philly 106-102.

Both teams found their offensive rhythm early in this contest and this made for a very competitive game throughout this contest. The Magic were able to outduel Philly early on as they got out to a 12-point lead early in the game. Jared McCain refused to let his team get blown out on their home floor he scored 24 points and kept Philly in this game. That allowed them to overcome the early deficit and tie this game up by half time.

McCain got whatever he wanted from the field and was able to take full advantage of his quick release to get shots up over the lengthy Magic defenders. This was his 8^th straight 20-plus point performance of the season. The Sixers offense seems to flow a lot better when McCain is on the floor and handles the ball, this allows Tyrese Maxey to go off the ball and have more room to attack the basket.

Philly should look to make McCain the primary ball handler and let Maxey operate off the ball especially in games where Paul George and Joel Embiid are not playing. McCain was a big problem for the Magic in tonight’s contest and had the rest of his teammates been able to convert more shots the Sixers might have been able to pull this one out.

The Magic were able to overcome a game Sixers squad in the fourth quarter thanks to Franz Wagner who scored nine of his 35 points in the fourth quarter and really powered the Magic to a victory in tonight’s contest. Philly did not have enough lengthy defenders to stop him in this contest. Wagner was able to outduel McCain and get whatever he wanted from the field. He overpowered the smaller Philly defenders and was able to save the Magic multiple times in this contest.

On top of that, the length of the Magic forced the Sixers to be perfect with their passing and they just could not do it in this contest. Orlando was able to force a couple of pivotal turnovers in the fourth quarter and that led to a backbreaking dunk from Anthony Black which was the difference in this game. The Sixers could not turn enough of Orlando’s mistakes into points and the Magic were able to convert 10 plus points off of the Sixers turnovers.

The Sixers will prepare to face the Orlando Magic for the final game of this two-game series on Friday night. They should have Paul George available and possibly Joel Embiid, but even if they both play on Friday night. Philly cannot allow the Magic to have multiple opportunities to grab an offensive rebound. That is what killed them in tonight’s contest they gave the Magic too many opportunities to put points on the board. They have to limit them to one possession on the offensive end. In addition, the Sixers must limit their turnovers, make their free throws which they did not do tonight, and convert their high-percentage shooting opportunities into points.

Implementing these things into their gameplan should put them in great position to win their sixth game of the season on Friday,  and get their first win over the Magic in the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season.