Sixers counter Magic, forge NBA playoff clash with Celtics
LOS ANGELES, United States — The Philadelphia 76ers held off the Orlando Magic, 109-97, on Wednesday (Thursday Manila time) to book an NBA playoffs first-round meeting with the Boston Celtics.
Tyrese Maxey had 31 points to lead five Philadelphia players to score in double figures.
Rookie VJ Edgecombe added 19 points and 11 rebounds and Andre Drummond came off the bench to score 14 points with 10 rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots.
The 76ers' play-in victory — with star big man Joel Embiid sidelined as he recovers from an appendectomy — secured the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference and a first-round series against the second-seeded Celtics.
The Magic, led by 34 points from Desmond Bane, will have a last chance to grab the East eighth seed on Friday when they host the Charlotte Hornets, who knocked out the Miami Heat in a 127-126 overtime thriller on Tuesday.
The reward for the winner of Friday's game will be a first-round series against East top seeds Detroit.
Philadelphia led most of the night but the Magic cut an 11-point deficit midway through the third quarter to one early in the fourth.
Orlando trailed by four with four minutes remaining, but the Sixers pulled away with a late spurt capped by Drummond's 3-pointer with 41 seconds left.
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