Maxey-mum mayhem: Sixers win rock fight with Magic, punch playoff ticket to Boston

PHILADELPHIA -- Physicality was the word of the week after the Sixers found out they would be playing the Orlando Magic in the Play-In game with a chance to secure the seventh seed in the playoffs. 

Sixers guards, forwards and coaches mentioned daily the toughness the Magic impose on teams. 

Wednesday was no different as the teams slugged out 48 minutes of basketball, mixed in with some wrestling and chest-bumping, with the Sixers enduring for a 109-97 win in front of a wild sellout crowd at Xfinity Mobile Arena. 

They will now advance to play the second-seeded Boston Celtics this weekend in Game 1 of the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

Tyrese Maxey overcame a violent night of coverage from the Magic to score 31 points. VJ Edgecombe added 19 points and 11 rebounds in his first postseason game, while Kelly Oubre, Jr. had 19 with five 3-pointers and Paul George scored 16.

Next up is Tyrese Maxey, who led the Sixers with 31 points... with a LOT of them coming off impressive shot creation and some difficult finishes through contact.

31 PTS (11-25 FG, 3-9 3PT), 2 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK

Here are all of Maxey's FG from the win! ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/wMLWBQUjCI

— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) April 16, 2026

The first half played out exactly the way most envisioned, with suffocating defense, constant contact and a difficulty for both teams to find open shots. Twenty six total fouls were called, rarely did the action go more than one possession without a stoppage and there was really no advantage gained by either team that appeared to be a deciding factor as the Sixers built a 59-55 lead.

Orlando guards Jalen Suggs and Desmond Bane, the latter of who is built like a middle linebacker, were in Maxey's chest for most of the first 24 minutes, but the All-Star was able to spring free for a team-high 16 points at the break. Oubre drained three 3-pointers on his way to 11 and George toughed his way to 11 points, also.

As much as the Orlando physicality stalled the Sixers offense at times, it propelled them at the offensive end, particularly Bane, who slashed and banged and had 19 of his team-high 34 at the break, with eight of them coming from the foul line.

"We want to guard them and make them take shots and limit them to one shot as much as we can," said Nick Nurse prior to the game. "They like to get out and run, but if we can secure the defensive boards then we can get out and run, too. We want to run into some space. I think we need to use our speed and quickness against their strength."

"It comes to the time of year now that you have to be able to do both," said Nurse of playing strong and fast. "If somebody is trying to overpower you down the lane and it takes more than one body to at least slow them down or show them that there's possible double teams coming, then that kind of draws things in and they kick it out, you've got to be able to get in and get out. 

"This isn't 'We're going to stay out and give them the inside,' or 'We're going to pull everyone in and (not guard the perimeter).' You've got to be able to be in and then be out. You've just got to be able to do both this time of the year."

George and Edgecombe were particularly stingy at the defensive end, staunchly stopping dribble drives, continuously getting hands in passing lanes and forcing more than a few off-balanced shots by the Magic.

Without the services of Joel Embiid, the Sixers have to get contributions from fill-ins Andre Drummond and Adem Bona and Wednesday both were quite efficient. Despite coming off the bench, Drummond was big in the first quarter with four points, four rebounds and a wonderful feed to a cutting Dominick Barlow for a back cut dunk. Bona had two big blocks in the third quarter, one where he came down horizontally to the ground. Drummond finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Bona rejected three shots.

Now comes an even tougher test starting this weekend in Boston.