Philadelphia 76ers beat Orlando Magic in NBA play-in tournament; will play Boston Celtics in playoffs
The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Orlando Magic, 109-97, in the NBA play-in tournament Wednesday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena and will play the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
With the win, the Sixers will be the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference and play the No. 2 seed Celtics in a first-round series, which begins Sunday in Boston. It marks the first time the two rivals have played each other in the playoffs since 2023, when the Celtics won in seven games.
All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey had a team-high 31 points for the Sixers and dished out six assists. Kelly Oubre Jr. had 19 points and drained five 3-pointers.
In his first postseason appearance, rookie VJ Edgecombe had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Paul George added 16 points, had five assists and five rebounds. Andre Drummond had 14 points off the bench and hit two 3-pointers.
Magic guard Desmond Bane scored a game-high 34 points and sunk four 3-pointers in the loss, as Orlando will play the Charlotte Hornets Friday in the NBA play-in tournament. The winner of that game will become the No. 8 seed in the playoffs and play the Detroit Pistons in the first round.
Sixers back in playoffs after miserable season
The Sixers made the playoffs seven straight seasons until everything went wrong for the franchise last season.
In the 2024-25 season, the Sixers went 24-58 as the team dealt with injuries to their three biggest stars in Joel Embiid, Maxey and George. The Big Three only played 15 games with each other that season.
As a result of a lost season, the Sixers got lucky in the draft lottery and earned the No. 3 pick, which they used to select Edgecombe, who is set to earn NBA All-rookie honors.
While the Sixers are back in the playoffs with Maxey and George, they'll likely have to try and upset the Celtics without Embiid, who recently underwent appendectomy surgery last week. The Sixers have yet to provide a timeline for Embiid's return to basketball activities.
Sixers-Celtics playoff schedule
- Game 1: Sixers at Boston, Sunday, April 19 (1 p.m., ABC)
- Game 2: Sixers at Boston, Tuesday, April 21 (7 p.m., NBC/Peacock)
- Game 3: Boston at Sixers, Friday, April 24 (7 p.m., Prime Video)
- Game 4: Boston at Sixers, Sunday, April 26 (7 p.m., NBC)
- Game 5: Sixers at Boston, Tuesday, April 28 (if necessary)
- Game 6: Boston at Sixers, Thursday, April 30 (if necessary)
- Game 7: Sixers at Boston, Saturday, May 2 (if necessary)