The Philadelphia 76ers got back to their winning ways on Friday when they beat the Orlando Magic 122-97 to clinch the No. 1 seed in the East. It was a solid win that saw the Sixers begin to get back to who they are as they moved the ball on offense and they were great on defense.
Outside of making six of their first seven triples to keep the game close, the Sixers were locked in on defense for the majority of the game and held the Magic to 39.8% shooting and they were just 10-for-30 from deep after their hot start.
The Sixers also forced Orlando into 13 turnovers and they held them to only three fastbreak points. It was a familiar defensive effort for coach Doc Rivers after some uneven performances lately.
“Defensively, I thought today (Friday) was the first time that I saw a replica of our defense in about three or four games,” said Rivers. “I will say we’ve played a lot of teams with guys out over this last like two weeks and I do think that can create bad habits. I thought they were coming. I’m glad we have a week to try to correct some of them.”
Rivers is right about facing shorthanded teams. That can sometimes cause teams to let their guard down a bit and take things lightly. Luckily for them, they will have roughly a week to get themselves ready for the playoffs and they will have a chance to correct some defensive issues.
“In the regular season, you can kind of sometimes get away with it,” said Joel Embiid. “Not making the right rotations or not being fully committed defensively, but in the playoffs, everybody’s got to be on the same page. We have a goal and we think we can accomplish it. So everybody’s gonna be ready and I think our defense is gonna be even better.”
The Sixers are also missing Matisse Thybulle right now due to swelling in his left hand and when he returns combined with Embiid and Ben Simmons, the Sixers will be a tough team to score on. They now just have to get everything back on the same page for the postseason.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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