Sixers outlast Magic

Philadelphia beat Orlando 109-97 on Wednesday night to grab the Eastern Conference’s No. 7 seed without Joel Embiid. (nba.com) Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points, and rookie V.J. Edgecombe added 19 points and 11 rebounds in the play-in win at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. Orlando got 34 points from Desmond Bane but could not close the gap late. (espn.com) (nba.com) Embiid missed the game after an emergency appendectomy last week, leaving Philadelphia without its former Most Valuable Player for a win-or-advance matchup. The 76ers still finished the job after ending the regular season tied with Orlando at 45-37. (usatoday.com) (nba.com) The play-in tournament gives teams seeded seventh through 10th one last route into the playoffs. The No. 7-No. 8 winner becomes the conference’s No. 7 seed, while the loser gets one more game against the No. 9-No. 10 winner for the No. 8 spot. (nba.com) That format moved Philadelphia straight into a first-round series against the No. 2 Boston Celtics. Orlando now plays Charlotte on Friday, April 17, with the winner taking the East’s No. 8 seed and a first-round matchup with the No. 1 Detroit Pistons. (cbssports.com) (nba.com) The result capped a two-day shift in the East bracket. Charlotte reached Friday’s elimination game by beating Miami 127-126 in overtime on Tuesday, while Miami became the first East team knocked out of the postseason race. (cbssports.com) Home court mattered in this one because Philadelphia got the seventh seed over Orlando only after winning two of the teams’ three regular-season meetings. Orlando had entered the final day of the regular season with a one-game lead before losing 113-108 to a Boston team resting its top seven scorers. (nba.com) Philadelphia’s reward is immediate and difficult: Game 1 against Boston is part of the first round that begins Saturday, April 18. Orlando gets one more night to extend its season after letting the first playoff berth slip away. (cbssports.com)