The Philadelphia 76ers have been on a roll lately, winning seven games in a row against competitors like the Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, Brooklyn Nets, and even the Denver Nuggets.
They are currently the third-best team in the East.
Because of that, most people assumed they’d make easy work of the Orlando Magic, who are 13th in their conference with a 20-31 record.
The 76ers led the Magic at home by 21 with 5:25 left in the 2nd quarter.
Orlando outscored Philly by 31 in the final 29 minutes 🤯 pic.twitter.com/VPTkjGTLRc
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) January 31, 2023
Sure enough, the 76ers led the Magic by 21 points with just over five minutes left in the second quarter on Monday night.
But things changed quickly and in the end, the Magic beat the 76ers by 10 points.
The young Orlando squad outscored the Philly favorites by 31 points in the final 29 minutes of the game.
It’s not like Philadelphia was having a bad night either: Joel Embiid scored 30 and James Harden and Tobias Harris each put up 17 of their own.
But the Magic answered the call with 29 from Paolo Banchero, 22 from Moritz Wagner, and 19 from Franz Wagner.
Perhaps the 76ers just didn’t expect much of a fight from the Magic.
They, like many others, have written that team off.
But the Magic showed why every team needs to show up ready to play hard for each game of the season.
The 76ers learned a hard lesson on Monday night and they will look to redeem themselves in the days ahead.
They will be playing against the Magic again on Wednesday night, which will give them a chance to do what they couldn’t on Monday.
However, the Magic will enter that game with even more confidence in their abilities.
Both sides will have a lot to prove in their upcoming match.
Because of that, Wednesday night’s game has suddenly become a must-see.
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