Moritz Wagner unnerved Joel Embiid! Orlando Magic surprise at the Philadelphia 76ers

Moritz Wagner led the Orlando Magic to a surprise win at the Philadelphia 76ers. The Big Man trumped big in the final quarter and made Joel Embiid look old a few times as well. Despite being 21 points behind, Orlando won 119-109.

Philadelphia 76ers (32-17) – Orlando Magic (20-31) 109:119 (BOXSCORE)

Wagner scored 14 of his 22 points (6/11 FG, 10/10 FT) in the fourth quarter. The Berliner two And-1s against Joel Embiid. In addition, the Big Man drew more fouls, was active on the offensive board and also used limited resources in defense. Brother Franz Wagner also delivered some good plays, his steal against Tobias Harris 36 seconds before the end was the preliminary decision. The sophomore had 19 points (7/16), 6 rebounds and 2 steals, but showed weaknesses at the free throw line (3/6 FT).

The Magic’s top scorer was Paolo Banchero (29, 11/22, 10 rebounds), who fueled the visitors’ comeback in the third quarter. Markelle Fultz (12, 10 assists, 4 steals) shone in his first game in Philadelphia since the trade four years ago (!), especially on defense. Joel Embiid had 30 points (11/21 FG, 7/11 FT), 11 rebounds and 5 assists, but there wasn’t much in the fourth quarter other than costly turnovers (5 total). Otherwise, only James Harden and Harris (17 each) scored double digits.

“They got a lot of whistles,” Embiid complained after the game. “They were often at the free-throw line and we weren’t. They were favoured, but we know that from this season.” Embiid also couldn’t resist a dig at Moe Wagner without mentioning his name. “When you play in attack against someone who acts a lot, it becomes difficult. You just have to try, but I wasn’t good enough today.”

Orlando fought his way back into the game after a terrible start. After more than seven minutes, the guests had just four points while Philly drew fouls and scored in the zone. The lead grew to as much as 21 points, with Embiid often finding it easy and dominating the game at both ends of the field.

Moritz Wagner towers over for Orlando in the fourth quarter

At the end of the first half, the Sixers let it slide a bit. Orlando reduced to -10 thanks to Banchero, but Philly responded with an 8-0 run. After that only the Magic played. Banchero scored, and Gary Harris and Fultz, who repeatedly forced the hosts to lose possession, did well on defense. Harris even got Downtown’s first Magic lead of the night a minute before the end of the third quarter.

And this continued, since Moe Wagner now also reeled off good minutes. He was decent on defense, but his impact on offense was huge. Wagner attacked Embiid twice – and was rewarded both times. There were And-1s and Embiid now had to be careful with five fouls.

Philly then defended better again, but fouls, offensive rebounds (15:8 Orlando) and their own turnovers (19) were killers for the Sixers. The hosts couldn’t get any closer than +4, Moe Wagner providing the Magic with a putback and free throws after a clever foul on PJ Tucker.