The Philadelphia 76ers lost to the Orlando Magic 109-112 despite leading by as much as 17 points in the 3rd quarter. Richaun Holmes had his first career 20-10 game with 24 points and 14 rebounds.
It was close for the first quarter and a half. Second half of the second quarter saw the Sixers pull away, going up by 16. They were up by 15 by half time.
While the Sixers’ bench was key last time these two teams met, this time, the starters carried the scoring load. Dario Saric, who led the team in scoring last time, came off of the bench. But now, he’s a starter. That should be noted. However, the starters had 48 points while the bench had 8 at the half. That’s quite a bit, especially since Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, a starter, had no points.
Huh, the Sixers starters outscored the Magic in the first half. As mentioned, the starters had 48 points. The Magic had 41.
The Magic got as close as 9 points during the 3rd quarter, but the Sixers just kept the Magic at a safe distance. The Magic were down by 9 at the end of the 3rd.
Meanwhile, the Sixers had foul trouble with an active roster of just 9 players. Four of these players had at least four fouls during the final quarter. Eventually, Dario Saric fouled out with just under four minutes remaining and the Sixers were tied at 92. Luwawu-Cabarrot also fouled out.
The Sixers slowly lost the lead in the game via a series of poor shots and turnovers. They also sent the Magic to the free throw line, as indirectly mentioned with the foul trouble. They were down 94-92 with 3:28 left. TJ McConnell responded to tie the game up at 94. The Magic, at the free throw line, took a 96-94 lead. Nik Staukas knocks down a 3 pointer to give the Sixers a 97-96 lead.
Elfrid Payton made a wild layup to give the Magic a 98-97 lead. The Sixers at this point call timeout with 1:19 remaining. It’s the same score with 29.0 seconds left now. It’s Sixers ball with 12 to shoot after a timeout. Justin Anderson gets fouled and goes to the line. It’s 20.7 seconds left at this point. Anderson misses the first. Perfect. He does make the second. The Magic call timeout with the game tied at 98.
With 5.2 seconds left, the ball ends up out of bounds. The refs review it to see who has possession and they give it to the Sixers. At this point, this writer decided that TJ's last name is now, McClutch, as he forced the ball out of bounds for that Magic turnover. The Sixers turn the ball over and that’s the end of regulation.
Confidence from this writer was low on a Sixers win at this point. Foul trouble and simply this momentum shift in the Magic’s favor were cause for concern.
So, anyway, the Sixers foul the Magic and the Magic go up 99-98. The Magic then score to go up 101-98. Holmes knocks down a 3 with 2 minutes left to tie it up. But then, the Sixers foul yet again and the Magic go up 104-101. Fantastic.
Robert Covington hits a 3 with 45.9 seconds left to tie the game at 104. Very close game, obviously. But, Holmes has 5 fouls and Covington has 4. Anderson also has 4. Shucks, Long also has 4. However, McConnell has zero fouls. Terrence Ross hits a jumper and the Magic go up 106-104 with 34.7 seconds left. The Sixers couldn’t tie the game up and now they have to foul.
The foul troubled team is now forced to foul.
With 17.4 seconds left, the Magic go to the line. After that trip, they are up 108-104. Obviously, a quick shot (you don’t NEED a 3 yet) is ideal. So, Sixers call timeout. Staukas hits a 3 pointer to make it 107-108. There is 13 seconds left.
Sixers in ideal trailing situation in that, even if the Magic hit both free throws, Sixers are still within a possession. Covington fouls and the Magic go up 110-107 with 11.4 seconds.
A thought sneaks into this writer’s mind: Do we want another overtime? The answer was no. However, a Sixers win was strongly desired.
Right, back to the game. Covington gets the ball and chucks up a fairly bad shot even with time left to perhaps get a better look. He missed it, Sixers foul (and Holmes fouls out) and the Sixers end up down 112-107. McConnell hits a jumper and the Sixers lose 109-112.
Holmes has been solid since Nerlens Noel got traded, Joel Embiid officially was shut down, and Jahlil Okafor was being Jahlil Okafor. The addition of Shawn Long, who has played nicely so far, especially as a defensive presence, has been interesting. But yeah, Holmes had 24 points and 14 rebounds to end up with his first 20-10 game of his career. But, it wasn’t enough.
Could things have gone better if foul trouble wasn’t an issue? Maybe. The Sixers spent that 4th quarter turning the ball over quite a bit and then really got into some foul issues. If you are team tank, this was a good game for you.
Nikola Vucevic led the Magic in scoring with 26 points, but Payton really stepped up in the final few minutes of regulation to help the Magic reach OT. He had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
The Sixers face the Thunder on Wednesday night.
