By: Kylan Watson

After falling to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night the Philadelphia 76ers played them again tonight for the finale of their two-game series. Both of these teams once again traded blows, but unlike Wednesday night the Sixers were able to use a late second-half explosion to beat Orlando 102-94.

The Sixers found their offensive rhythm early in this contest and cashed in on their high- percentage opportunities created off their ball movement. The offense flowed better tonight thanks to the return of Paul George who did not play on Wednesday night. He hit two early buckets early in the first quarter to open up the scoring for the Sixers. George scored 21 points and had 9 assists (season high) in this contest once again his ability to score from any level on the court was a Godsend for the Sixers in this contest. That ability saved a number of Philly’s offensive possessions that looked lifeless, and he found the bottom of the net to make sure the Sixers stayed ahead of Orlando in this contest.

George’s gravity opened up opportunities for his teammates to have easier opportunities to put points on the board. KJ Martin took full advantage of those opportunities. He scored 20 points (Most points he has ever scored as a Sixer) and made 9/10 of his shots in this game. The athleticism off the bench that Martin brings takes them to another level on both sides of the court. He was able to blow up multiple scoring opportunities for the Magic with his ability to recover on defense which made the Magic take way more difficult shots. He also made sure that the Sixers were able to be in on every loose ball in this game.

Martin should be given more opportunities to play throughout this season, Philly needs more energy and athleticism off the bench. He brings both of those things in bunches and if he continues to improve his three-point shooting percentage. It will be hard for Nick Nurse to keep him out of the rotation. Martin has been viewed as a trade piece, but he may end up being a key rotational piece for the Sixers throughout this season and may end up making himself a lot of money here in Philly.

Despite the scoring explosion from Martin and George, Orlando continued to fight throughout this contest. They cut the Sixers 17-point lead to single digits midway through the third quarter. Franz Wagner (32 points) and Jalen Suggs (22 points) combined for 54 of the Magic’s 94 points and imposed their wills in the second half.

Wagner in particular picked up right where he left off on Wednesday night and used his size to shoot over the Sixers smaller defenders. With his improved abilities as a shooter, he found the bottom of the net pretty easily and Philly had to put Martin on him to slow him down. His athleticism allowed him to keep up with Wagner despite losing the size advantage and forced him into turnovers and difficult shots that he missed. Once that happened the Magic’s offense fell off, and the Sixers were able to pull away from the Magic and win their sixth game of the season.

The Sixers will now prepare to face the Chicago Bulls on Sunday afternoon. There is also a chance that they might get Joel Embiid back, which will give the Sixers a full deck to work with for the first time in a few weeks. The Bulls are another young and athletic team that can take full advantage of Philly’s mistakes. The Sixers will need to limit their turnovers and not give Chicago multiple opportunities to put points on the board.

Additionally, Philly will have to continue to cash in on the high-percentage shooting opportunities created off their ball movement. Implementing these things into their game plan on Sunday should put the Sixers in great position to win their seventh win of the season.