By: Kylan Watson

After beating the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night, the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Orlando Magic in South Philadelphia tonight and Philly was able to beat the Sixers thanks to a fourth quarter offensive explosion from Tyrese Maxey, who led them to a 136-124 victory over Orlando. With the win the Sixers now have their first 3-0 start to the season since 2019.

The Sixers once again found their offensive rhythm early in this contest, they were able to find their rhythm from the three-point line in the first quarter. They made 5 of their 14 three-pointers in this game in that period for the third straight game. Consistently being able to hit three-pointers has been a major weakness of previous Sixers team. However, this year’s Sixers can make their three-pointers which will help them to put opposing teams away.

Tyrese Maxey (43 points and had 8 assists in this contest), VJ Edgecombe (26 points), and Kelly Oubre Jr. (25 points) combined for 94 of Philly’s 136 points and each of them made pivotal shots to keep the Sixers ahead in this game. The length of Orlando’s defensive wings usually bothers opposing teams, but Philly used ball movement to find the weaknesses in Orlando’s defensive scheme. Every time the Magic made a run in this contest the Sixers used their ball movement to find a high-percentage shot to stop their rally. So, for this season Philly has demonstrated a mentality of toughness that previous iterations of the team have lacked, and if they keep this up the Sixers will be a championship contending team this season.

Despite the offensive explosions from Maxey, Edgecombe, and Oubre Jr. Orlando had multiple opportunities to steal this game from Philly. Late in the fourth quarter they were able to cut the Sixers double digit lead to single digits. Paolo Banchero scored 32 points in this contest and Philly struggled to contain him at times during this contest. He was able to create multiple high-percentage shooting opportunities for his teammates. However, the Sixers were able to turn up the defensive pressure and that forced Orlando into bad shots and turnovers. That unlocked the Sixers offense and allowed them to beat the Magic tonight on their home floor.

Tyrese Maxey scored 8 consecutive points in the fourth quarter to put this game away for the Sixers. He became the first 76er to score 40 points in the first three games of the regular season. Maxey continues to develop as a playmaker and had eight assists in this contest if that continues then the Sixers do not have to search for a true point guard. Maxey’s improved development as a passer will be pivotal in helping the Sixers to get to the NBA Finals for first time since 2001. He continues to develop as a scorer, but when the double and triple teams come, he must be a willing passer and make good decisions. He has done an excellent job of limiting his turnovers in the last three games and that trend must continue.

Philly will now prepare to face the Washington Wizards tomorrow night which will wrap up their first back-to-back of the season. Joel Embiid should be available to play tomorrow so that will give them a boost as well even though he remains on a minute’s restriction. The Sixers will need to limit their turnovers and use their ball movement to create high-percentage shooting opportunities on the offensive end. Implementing these things into their game plan for tomorrow night should put them in great shape to win their fourth game of the season.