76ers push past Orlando in Play-In, will take on Boston in 1st Round of NBA Playoffs

With the Flyers pushing their way to the playoffs this past week, it was known that their roommates, the Sixers, had to come up huge for the fandom and make it to the playoffs themselves. Flyers players Denver Barkey and Porter Martone rang the bell pregame, giving the fans playoff energy right from the jump.

That energy lasted the entirety of the game, and fully erupted when the song started to play, and Philly finished things off with a 109-97 win over the Magic.

Philadelphia advances to the NBA playoffs and will hold the 7 seed, playing against the 2-seeded Boston Celtics in the first round. Orlando now falls into an elimination game against the Charlotte Hornets, with the winner playing the 1-seeded Detroit Pistons, and the loser’s season coming to a close.

After the way last season went, Philadelphia had something to prove going into this game, with a trip to the playoffs on the line. Finishing with just 24 wins felt like the early Process days, not the modern Sixers. This game gave an opportunity for Philadelphia to bounce right back, and they did just that.

Both teams were decently slow on offense from the jump, with the only player standing out offensively being Desmond Bane. Bane went to work on Philly early, utilizing both his strength and inside game, as well as his jumper from the mid-range and three. As Philadelphia began to adjust to Bane’s quick offense, they were able to use a mixture of the starters to start to get points on the board. Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, and Kelly Oubre Jr. shared the wealth early on, leading the 76ers to a 28-24 lead at the end of one.

With a slow offensive showing in the first, both the 76ers and Magic began to turn things up a notch, but sacrificed some defense in doing so. Bane continued his offensive attack and relied on Paolo Banchero to get to work inside when he was unable to score efficiently. Banchero’s brute force and strength allowed him to get to the rim and finish, but Philadelphia was able to respond with Maxey’s offense stepping up. Maxey brought to the table his shiftiness and limitless range, hitting contested deep threes while also finding his way to the rack from time to time. The combined efforts on offense from both teams led to a 59-55 lead for the Sixers at the half, with much of the momentum still going their way.

Third periods have been an issue for Philly all season long, but one wouldn’t be able to tell from witnessing Wednesday night’s third. A switch to a more defensive-focused mindset had to have occurred in the locker room at halftime for both teams, as scoring slowed down significantly in the quarter. Adem Bona was stellar inside, rejecting and denying anything that came his way at the rim, whether it be from a heavy contest or a block, and Orlando collectively denied Philly’s offensive attempts. Only 39 points were scored in the quarter combined.

Holding onto a 5-point lead going into the fourth quarter, Philadelphia was in much need of a boost to close things out for good and got just that. The shots began to fall, the strong drives began to result in trips to the free-throw line, and the defense was able to stay consistent. The Sixers pulled away for good with an Andre Drummond three to put the team up 12 with just a little over 40 seconds remaining, leading to the eventual victory.

Philadelphia’s overall game scoring was distributed pretty evenly, excluding Maxey, who dropped 31 points. Oubre and Edgecombe each brought 19 points to the plate, with Edgecombe also snagging 11 boards. George scored 16 points, and Drummond added an additional 14 off the bench, while also hauling in 10 rebounds.

The 76ers move on to play a familiar foe in the first round of the playoffs, the Boston Celtics, marking the 23rd matchup between the two teams in the postseason, the most in NBA history. Boston is a dangerous team, having a now healthy Jayson Tatum, who missed most of this season with an Achilles tear. Boston and Philadelphia tied the season series at two apiece, but the Celtics were without Tatum in all of those games. Adding Tatum to the mix makes the team all the more dangerous. The duo of Tatum and Jaylen Brown is among the best in the NBA and is hard to defend, with their combined near 50 points per game. The pieces surrounding them fully complete the team and are equally as difficult to deal with, making this team exceptionally hard to take down.

But this Sixers team has grit. And if there is one thing that Philadelphia is known for, it’s an underdog story.

Here is the schedule for Round 1:

• Game 1 in Boston: Sunday, 4/19, 1:00 p.m. ET, ABC
• Game 2 in Boston: Tuesday, 4/21, 7:00 p.m. ET, Peacock/NBCSN
• Game 3 in Philly: Friday, 4/24, 7:00 p.m. ET, Prime
• Game 4 in Philly: Sunday, 4/26, 7:00 p.m. ET, NBC
• Game 5 in Boston*: Tuesday, 4/28, TBD, TBD
• Game 6 in Philly*: Thursday, 4/30, TBD, TBD
• Game 7 in Boston*: Saturday, 5/2, TBD, TBD
  *: if necessary

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