76ers advance in East
The Philadelphia 76ers outlasted the Orlando Magic in the East’s 7‑vs‑8 play‑in and advanced, clarifying the early playoff bracket (espn.com). The game’s decisive sequences were collected in the NBA’s full highlights, which show the late possessions that tilted the matchup (youtube.com) (sports.yahoo.com).
Philadelphia beat Orlando 109-97 on Wednesday, April 15, to win the Eastern Conference 7-versus-8 play-in game and lock up the No. 7 seed. (nba.com) (espn.com) Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points, V.J. Edgecombe added 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Andre Drummond gave Philadelphia 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Orlando got 34 points from Desmond Bane but could not close after trimming the lead to 87-86 in the fourth quarter. (nba.com) (espn.com) Joel Embiid did not play after an emergency appendectomy in Houston last week, but he returned to the team on Wednesday and watched from the bench. Maxey then scored seven straight points late in the fourth quarter to create the separation Philadelphia needed. (espn.com) (nba.com) The play-in tournament gives teams seeded seventh through 10th one more route into the bracket. The No. 7 and No. 8 teams meet for the seventh seed, while the loser gets one more home game against the winner of the No. 9 versus No. 10 game for the eighth seed. (nba.com) Philadelphia’s win settled one side of the East bracket immediately: the 76ers advance to face the No. 2 Boston Celtics in a first-round series that begins Sunday. Orlando stays alive and will host Charlotte on Friday for the No. 8 seed and a first-round matchup with the No. 1 Detroit Pistons. (espn.com) (nba.com) (espn.com) Both teams finished the regular season 45-37, which is why this game was so valuable: the winner skipped the elimination game, and the loser did not. Orlando had lost a late-season chance to host by collapsing against Boston in the regular-season finale, sending this play-in game to Philadelphia instead. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2) The fourth quarter swung on a handful of possessions. Bane hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to two, Anthony Black followed with another three to make it 87-86, and then Maxey answered with the late scoring burst that pushed Philadelphia back in control. (espn.com) (nba.com) Philadelphia also got timely plays from its veterans and its rookie. Paul George finished with 16 points, Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 19, and Edgecombe, the No. 3 pick in the 2025 draft, punctuated a third-quarter run with a dunk over Jalen Suggs that led to a taunting technical and a brief on-court confrontation. (espn.com) Now the 76ers move straight into a playoff series against Boston, while the Magic have 48 hours to reset for one more win-or-go-home game. The bracket is clearer, but Orlando’s season is not over yet. (espn.com) (nba.com)
