Paul George’s 21 points lead the Sixers to a 102-94 win over the Orlando Magic

In a season full of disappointments, the 76ers pulled off a rare statement victory against the Orlando Magic.

They weathered Orlando’s second-half runs to pull off an 102-94 upset win Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Sixers saw a commanding 17-point lead shrink to four points with 53 seconds remaining. After missing a pair of foul shots moments earlier, Guerschon Yabusele sank a pair with 27.1 seconds remaining to give the Sixers a 100-94 advantage.

After an Orlando timeout, Jalen Suggs missed a corner three-pointer. Tyrese Maxey grabbed the defensive rebound and was fouled. He converted a pair of free throws with 22 seconds left to put the Sixers up for good.

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“I think they did a good job answering some of the runs,” said coach Nick Nurse, whose squad was bombarded by the Magic’s three-point shooting, including 7 of 12 in the fourth quarter. “Most of the game we were doing the best we could to try to protect the paint and willing to live with some of the perimeter stuff. Then they started firing them like crazy there late, and making a few, which moves the scoreboard fast.

“But yeah, I really think we made some good passes late. We got the ball where we wanted to go. ... Interior passing, which wasn’t that great earlier in the game, was pretty good down the stretch.”

The Sixers’ third victory in four games improved them to 6-15 heading into Sunday afternoon’s game against the Bulls in Chicago (1 p.m., NBCSP).

They still have a ways to go. But the Sixers no longer resemble a team destined to get a favorable amount of balls in the NBA draft lottery.

On Friday, they welcomed back Paul George (load management), Andre Drummond (sprained right ankle), and Kyle Lowry (load management). George and Drummond’s presence gave the Sixers a lift over the Eastern Conference’s third-place Magic (16-9), who beat the Sixers 106-102 Wednesday night at The Center.

George had his second straight solid performance, finishing with 21 points, a game-high nine assists, and four rebounds.

This was just George’s third home game as a Sixer because of two left knee bone bruises. But you couldn’t tell, as the 6-foot-8 forward got off to a quick start. He scored the game’s first four points on a pair of jumpers. George, who played with a left knee brace after two hyperextensions, also did a solid job as the Sixers' primary ball handler, finding teammates for easy buckets.

“I’m pretty comfortable up to this point,” said George, who had 29 points in Tuesday’s road victory over the Charlotte Hornets. “Now, it’s trying to refind ways to get to my game with being a little limited. I hate to bring the brace up as an excuse, but I am a little bit limited with the brace.

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“But within the offense, within the style of play, I am comfortable with finding shots, finding rhythm, and just being aggressive, being in attack mode. Nick has allowed me to just play. At this point, I think, the guys expect me to be aggressive and make plays.”

Meanwhile, Drummond added seven points, a game-high 11 rebounds, and season-high four steals. Reserve KJ Martin added 20 points on 9-for-10 shooting. Maxey (16 points), Kelly Oubre Jr. (13 points, season-high 10 rebounds), and Yabusele (16 points) were the other double-figure scorers.

Magic small forward Franz Wagner finished with a game-high 30 points.

Drummond came back one game sooner than expected after spraining his right ankle against the Detroit Pistons last Saturday. His return after missing two games was a great thing for the depleted Sixers, who were playing without centers Joel Embiid and Adem Bona.

“I tried to come back in Charlotte, but they wouldn’t let me play,” Drummond said. “When I play this game, if I can physically step on the court and do my job, I’m going to play. That’s just the era I’m from. I don’t take games off. If I can walk, if I can jump, if I can run, all I got to do his tape that [expletive] up and I’m good.”

But it was obvious that the 6-foot-11, 280-pounder wasn’t 100%. He moved gingerly at times and didn’t have his normal elevation while rebounding.

» READ MORE: Sixers hope to rebound against Orlando Magic after being outclassed in the paint

That was evident on a missed alley-oop attempt in the first quarter. Drummond also grimaced while planting his foot on another early first-quarter possession.

But as the game wore on, Drummond’s play improved.

He had three points, four rebounds, and two steals in the first 2 minutes, 38 seconds of the second quarter.

“For me, you know, I’m from the old school, man,” Drummond said. “If I can run and jump and do my job, I’m going to step out there and play despite the pain or however it feels. Once the adrenaline starts going, all that stuff just ends up going away. So it took me until the second quarter to get the feel under it. The adrenaline was going. So the pain really wasn’t as bad, and I had a decent game.”

Friday night marked the 17th game that Embiid has missed due to left knee injury management, left knee swelling, personnel reasons, and a three-game suspension.

“He’s doing OK,” Nurse said. “His [left] knee swelling is down, feeling a little better. Maybe he’ll get through tonight, and hope there’s a chance he can play in the next game.”

» READ MORE: Sixers’ Joel Embiid set to be disqualified from NBA awards for second straight season

The Sixers will practice Saturday in Chicago before facing the Bulls on Sunday at the United Center.

What’s the biggest thing that’s stopping Embiid from playing at the moment?

“I think it’s just all the same,” Nurse said. “How [is the knee] feeling? What kind of load can he handle? How many minutes? All those kinds of things, ramp up, just kind of all the things that go back to getting back to play.”