TYRESE MAXEY scored 11 of his team-high 31 points in the fourth quarter on Wednesday night for the host Philadelphia 76ers, who advanced to the Eastern Conference playoffs by beating the Orlando Magic, 109-97, in a play-in game.
The 76ers, who finished in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a 45-37 record, will be the seventh seed and will face the second-seeded Boston Celtics in a best-of-seven series starting on Sunday.
The Magic, who were also 45-37 but lost the home-court tiebreaker to the 76ers via Philadelphia’s 2-1 record in the season series, will face the ninth-place Charlotte Hornets in a play-in game to determine the eighth seed on Friday. The Hornets edged the 10th place Miami Heat, 127-126, in overtime on Tuesday.
Starter VJ Edgecombe (19 points, 11 rebounds) and reserve Andre Drummond (14 points, 10 rebounds) each had a double-double for the 76ers, who missed the playoffs last year after qualifying seven seasons in a row.
“Go back to the opening press conference of the year. I said we’ve got a really, really big hole to dig out of and we want to get in the tournament somehow,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. “It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t pretty, but we’re here now. And now we’ve got to see what we can do with it.”
Philadelphia’s Kelly Oubre, Jr. scored 19 points while Paul George added 16 points.
Desmond Bane put up 34 points for the Magic, who are aiming for their third straight playoff appearance. Paolo Banchero had 18 points while Anthony Black collected 13 points off the bench. Franz Wagner added 12 points.
“There’s frustration,” Bane said, “but it’s also a great opportunity ahead of us on Friday, getting the chance to play at home in front of our fans against another good team and the chance to go clinch a playoff spot against the Detroit Pistons.”
Neither team led by more than six in the first half, which ended with the 76ers ahead, 59-55. Bane and Banchero combined for the first five points of the third quarter before Edgecombe hit a 3-pointer to put Philadelphia ahead for good at 62-60 with 10:54 left, sparking a 14-2 run. The Magic ended the quarter on a 12-6 surge to close within 79-74.
Bane’s 3-pointer pulled the Magic within 83-81 with 9:47 remaining, after which George missed 3-point attempt. But Bane also missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 9:16 left, and Maxey answered with a layup to extend the 76ers’ lead to 85-81.
Orlando pulled within one or two points twice more, but Edgecombe and Maxey responded with jumpers on those occasions. Maxey scored seven unanswered points to give the 76ers a 94-86 edge with 6:25 left. The hosts led by at least four the rest of the way. — Reuters
