Sixers hope to rebound against Orlando Magic after being outclassed in the paint

Playing the second half of a two-game series, the Sixers will get a chance to avenge Wednesday’s 106-102 loss.

Guerschon Yabusele (left) fouls the Magic's Franz Wagner during the second half Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Center. Without Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond, the Sixers were at a size disadvantage, but they'll get another chance at the Magic on Friday.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer

Published Dec. 6, 2024, 5:00 a.m. ET

It could be a good sign for the 76ers that NBA teams find it hard to sweep two-game regular season series.

Those games are like mini playoff series, where the Game 1 loser often makes adjustments and enters Game 2 with an advantage. Complacency also can set in for winning players.

But this isn’t common for the Sixers, who dropped to 5-15 after Wednesday’s 106-102 loss to the Orlando Magic.

The Sixers have been marred by injuries to their stars, which has led to a lack of continuity in a disappointing season. Meanwhile, the Magic (16-8) have the Eastern Conference’s third-best record and a towering size advantage when the Sixers are missing Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond.

Even with that, the return of Paul George should give the Sixers some hope in Friday’s rematch at the Wells Fargo Center.

George’s presence should take pressure off Tyrese Maxey, who has carried the load in his absence. The 6-foot-8 forward, who sat out Wednesday’s game, equaled his season high with 29 points while making 6 of 9 three-pointers in Tuesday’s victory over the Hornets in Charlotte, N.C.

For the Sixers to win, they’re going to have to do a better job of keeping the Magic out of the paint. The Sixers also will look to improve their foul shooting after going 11 of 19 in the four-point loss. Orlando, which has six players standing at 6-10 or taller, took advantage of the undersized Sixers by driving the lane to score 64 points in the paint. The Magic also grabbed 16 offensive rebounds.

“I think, even in this game, we were trying to focus on rebounding,” Jared McCain said of the adjustment needed for Friday. “It’s tough, obviously with [Drummond] and [Embiid] out, but we have to be able to rebound. They got a lot of offensive rebounds, so just being able to eliminate the second-chance points and being able to guard.”

Guerschon Yabusele, a 6-8 power forward, started at center for the Sixers with Embiid (left knee injury management) and Drummond (sprained right ankle) sidelined. Adem Bona, who also is 6-8, was Yabusele’s backup. Bona was hobbled after banging knees with an Orlando player and was held out of the fourth quarter because of the injury. He’ll miss Friday’s game with a bruised left knee.

Embiid will miss his seventh consecutive game and 17th of the season. Should he miss any other games after Friday, the seven-time All-Star will be ineligible for regular season awards, including MVP, All-NBA teams, and All-Defensive teams. Meanwhile, Drummond was upgraded to questionable after initially being ruled out to play Friday.

On Wednesday, two of Orlando’s biggest rebounds came from 6-11 center Wendell Carter Jr. midway through the fourth quarter.

He scored on a putback off Mo Wagner’s missed three-pointer to give the Magic a 91-84 lead with 7 minutes, 29 seconds remaining. Then he grabbed a defensive rebound with 6:18 left that led to Anthony Black’s driving layup at the other end. Black’s bucket put Orlando up eight points.

“It goes back to … we are going to stick to what we do,” Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said, “and to give us the best opportunity and put us in the best position to be successful.”

The Magic actually are ranked 25th in rebounding at 42.2 per game. That’s four spots ahead of the Sixers at 29th (39.4).

“I think it’s good,” Yabusele said of facing the Magic twice in three days. “Now, we’re going to play them Friday and we know what they bring to the table. So we have to get to the video and see what they did well and try to adjust and make them feel uncomfortable.”