Mounting injuries and inconsistency too much for Sixers to overcome in 106-102 loss to Orlando

The 76ers have a unique challenge when it comes to dealing with injuries — something the Orlando Magic, luckily, don’t have to deal with.

When Magic All-Star forward Paolo Banchero was diagnosed with a torn right oblique, the Magic knew he would be sidelined for four to six weeks. But the Sixers are dealing with the uncertainty of how long Joel Embiid will be out with left knee injury management, along with injuries to Paul George and other players that have led to ever-changing lineups.

The Sixers came close, but couldn’t overcome that lack of consistency in Wednesday’s 106-102 loss to the Magic at the Wells Fargo Center.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made a pair of foul shots with 8.0 seconds left to give Orlando a three-point cushion. After a timeout, Tyrese Maxey misfired a running three-pointer. The Magic grabbed the rebound and Franz Wagner was fouled. The forward made a pair of free throws to put Orlando up 105-100 with 3.1 seconds left.

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The Sixers’ KJ Martin dunked on the ensuing possession to make it a three-point game. But after a timeout, Jalen Suggs split a pair of foul shots to give Orlando a four-point victory.

Wagner finished with a game-high 35 points to go with seven rebounds, Jared McCain paced the Sixers (5-15) with 24 points, while Kelly Oubre Jr. and Guerschon Yabusele added 15 apiece.

Maxey had 16 points and six assists, but made just 7 of 19 shots — including going 0-for-7 on three-pointers.

The Magic (16-8) took advantage of their 42-35 rebounding edge.

It was a game where the home team was without seven-time All-Star center Embiid, nine-time All-Star George (left knee recovery), backup center Andre Drummond (right ankle sprain), and backup point guard Kyle Lowry (right hip recovery).

Without Embiid and Drummond, the Sixers didn’t have anyone to guard the paint. And the Magic took full advantage, scoring 64 points from inside. They also missed George’s versatility and Lowry’s ballhandling and leadership.

“It’s very difficult,” coach Nick Nurse said of the lack of continuity due to playing several games without key players. “I think that we are going to get … I hope that we are going to get these guys together at the same time here fairly shortly. And then start working on the continuity.

“But to your question, it is difficult. Guys are in and out and we’re trying to figure it out.”

One of the difficulties is trying to figure out players’ roles and how they shift from night to night. Nurse thinks the Sixers have made some progress.

With a mostly new roster, the coaching staff didn’t know in the beginning how players would react in games. They also had to figure out what position players looked better in certain lineup combinations.

“It does shift around quite a bit, depending on who’s in there,” Nurse said.

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Embiid worked out on the court a couple of hours before the game. Wednesday night’s loss marked the sixth straight game that he missed. The 2023 league MVP has missed 16 of the team’s first 20 games because of injury management, left knee swelling, personal reasons, and a three-game suspension.

Nurse said there’s a chance that Embiid plays in Friday’s home game, also against the Magic. George got the night off after playing a season-high 37 minutes, 17 seconds in Tuesday night’s victory over the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center. It was his second game back after missing the previous three with a bone bruise in his knee.

The 6-foot-8, 220-pound George has missed 10 games this season due to separate bone bruises, associated with hyperextending the knee. As a result, the Sixers’ big three of Maxey, Embiid, and George have only played 6:09 together this season.

Meanwhile, this was the second of three games Drummond, who started 11 games, is scheduled to miss after suffering a sprained ankle Saturday night against the Detroit Pistons. And Lowry, who started 10 games, returned Tuesday after missing the previous five games.

“Anytime you have starting players out of the lineup, roles shift and the team has to adapt to a slightly different style or there are different things they can do,” Nurse said. “How much of a menu can they comprehend, etc. The biggest thing is trying to keep us organized in basic stuff just to make sure we are organized.

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“We are putting a lot of time into that. Practices have been steady and long, maybe not 100 miles per hour like we are used to having them. But they are long and thorough with just basic organization things with varying lineups, and guys have done a good job.”

On this night, the Sixers unveiled their 13th different starting lineup of the season by going with Oubre, Martin, Yabusele, McCain, and Maxey.