April 12, 2024
Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports
Joel Embiid was his typical dominant self Friday night against the Orlando Magic in what was the Sixers' most crucial game of the season.
In what was perhaps their most important contest of the year, the Sixers hosted the Orlando Magic on Friday night in their penultimate regular season game, a matchup that helped determine whether the Sixers would make a leap in the Eastern Conference standings and clinch a playoff berth or remain in the double-elimination Play-In Tournament. Despite an injury scare to each player, the team's All-Star duo of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers to a 125-113 win. Here is what jumped out from Friday night's victory:
Every time Embiid steps on the floor, the Sixers' primary point of emphasis is to get him the ball, run through him and let the chips fall where they may. But in the first quarter of this one, it felt like they made even more of a point than usual to let the reigning NBA MVP establish himself. Practically every possession either started or ended with Embiid controlling the ball, and after a few sloppy minutes to open the game, Embiid got going.
Embiid got started doing what he has always done best: getting to the free throw line. Embiid shot seven free throws in the first quarter alone, which contributed to his 13 points in the period. But that was not all. In addition to being his typically dominant self on the defensive end of the floor as a rim protector, Embiid pulled seven rebounds in the quarter as well. But perhaps what was most impressive -- it was at least most enjoyable -- was his playmaking. Embiid collected five first quarter assists, and a few of them were awfully impressive, most notably a sweet cross-court dish to Kelly Oubre Jr. which set up a corner triple that capped off an early 11-0 Sixers run.
that pass though... 👀 pic.twitter.com/NBocamU5dw
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 12, 2024
The most important part of Embiid's brilliant first quarter: he played every second of it. For the vast majority of the season prior to suffering his meniscus injury, Embiid would regularly play the entire first quarter before resting early in the second quarter. But he had not done that in any of his appearances since returning from injury... until Friday night.
Before the game, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse was asked about Allen Iverson, who was given a sculpture outside of the team's practice facility Friday afternoon, and how Iverson has been willing to be in the ears of Sixers players whenever he finds himself around the team. Nurse spoke about how Iverson has aided him in getting across the same message he has been sharing himself to Maxey ever since he was hired by the team: be aggressive.
Maxey may seem aggressive enough to the naked eye, but Nurse has been loudly attempting to instill even greater confidence in the first-time All-Star guard to seek out his own shot, even while handling the responsibilities of being a full-time point guard.
Maxey was able to make Nurse's wishes come true early on in this game, as he launched five three-point attempts in the first quarter alone (and knocked down three of them). Especially now that Kyle Lowry is in the fold to help take care of some of the point guard duties, Nurse and his staff want to do everything they can to empower Maxey to be the most aggressive scorer he can be as they prepare for postseason basketball.
This year's Sixers team is not exactly the same as last year's Sixers team -- namely, James Harden is now a Los Angeles Clipper -- but something the 2022-23 Sixers often utilized that the 2023-24 Sixers have not is three-guard lineups. The biggest reason Nurse has not often used them, though, is because he has not had enough good guards available -- particularly ones who can defend bigger players. But with Maxey, Lowry and De'Anthony Melton all available for the first time since they spent just two games together at the end of February, the door has opened.
The 81st game of the season is not an ideal time to try out new lineups and combinations, but the Sixers have not had much of a choice given Melton's two extensive absences due to his back injury. Nurse gave the trio of guards a couple of minutes together in the first half, and while that may seem impertinent in the grand scheme of things, it displays that this is a concept he and his coaching staff have been pondering internally, which in itself is meaningful.
With about 90 seconds left in the first half, Embiid stepped around Magic wing Jonathan Isaac en route ton the basket. He scored to give himself 21 points to go with his nine rebounds and seven assists in just 18 minutes in the first half. But he landed awkwardly, and was instantly grabbing his knee in pain.
Embiid tried to shake things off quickly and get back to action, but after a possession and a half ended up telling Nurse to call a timeout so he could head straight to the locker room.
The entire arena in South Philadelphia was stunned and horrified by what they had seen. Luckily, they were able to breathe a sigh of relief and get on their feet when, with a minute remaining before the start of the third quarter, Embiid returned to the floor to warm up with his teammates. Crisis avoided!
The Sixers built a healthy lead early thanks to Embiid's monstrous first quarter showing, and while the Magic made inroads a few different times, they simply never took a big enough bite out of the apple. The Sixers kept chugging along, truly keeping their collective foot on the gas for the entire 48-minute game, which is no easy feat -- especially this time of year.
Embiid and Maxey were the headliners -- as they have been so often this season. But Oubre was fantastic as well, giving the Sixers scoring on multiple occasions from all three levels and at the free throw line. Nobody else was phenomenal, but the Sixers simply did not need anyone to be. Instead, they reaped the benefits of having just about every player who stepped on the floor giving them rock solid minutes. That kind of team effort is as beneficial as it is rare.
So, here the Sixers stand, with 81 games down and just one more to go, and they have won all seven games they have played since Embiid returned from injury. They are one win away from officially running the table, and hopefully attaining favorable seeding in the Eastern Conference playoff race because of it.
