76ers vs. Magic set
The next pivotal play‑in matchup is Philadelphia vs. Orlando on Wednesday as teams continue to battle for the final East seed spots. (sports.yahoo.com) (cbssports.com)
Philadelphia and Orlando meet Wednesday, April 15, with the winner taking the Eastern Conference’s No. 7 playoff seed. (nba.com) The game is set for 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time in Philadelphia at Xfinity Mobile Arena, and the first-round prize is a series against the No. 2 Boston Celtics. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) Both teams finished the regular season 45-37, but Philadelphia grabbed the No. 7 spot on Sunday, April 12, by beating the Milwaukee Bucks 126-106 while Orlando lost 113-108 to a short-handed Boston team. (nba.com) The National Basketball Association’s play-in format gives the No. 7 and No. 8 finishers two chances to reach the playoffs. The loser of Wednesday’s game is not out; it will host Charlotte on Friday, April 17, for the No. 8 seed. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) Charlotte already earned that second chance Tuesday night by beating Miami 127-126 in overtime in the East’s No. 9 versus No. 10 game, which eliminated the Heat. (nba.com) (sports.yahoo.com) Philadelphia has one previous play-in win on its record, a 105-104 comeback against Miami in 2024. Orlando is back in the play-in for a second straight year. (nba.com) (si.com) The season series was close enough to leave little separation. Philadelphia won two of the three meetings, including a 103-91 win in Orlando in January, while Orlando’s win in Philadelphia was a 144-103 rout. (sportingnews.com) Wednesday’s game is one of four play-in contests scheduled from April 14 to April 17, and the National Basketball Association says all of them are streaming on Prime Video. The first round of the playoffs starts Saturday, April 18. (nba.com)
