‘Tired of getting our tails kicked’: The Sixers are fighting back and eying a fourth win in five games

It took almost five weeks of figuratively being punched in the throat for the 76ers to swing back.

And the haymakers they’re finally landing are gratifying for a group whose heart had been questioned.

“We just got tired of getting our tails kicked,” Tyrese Maxey said. “It’s not fun. We’re going out there losing by 20, losing by 20, losing by 15. It’s not fun, man. It’s not good morale. You know what I’m saying?

“Guys are actually going out there competing as a group. We don’t care how this gets done as long as it gets done. You keep it close and fight to the end, and we always have a chance.”

» READ MORE: Paul George’s 21 points lead the Sixers to a 102-94 win over the Orlando Magic

Following that blueprint, the Sixers (6-15) look to nab their fourth win in five games when they face the Chicago Bulls at 1 p.m. Sunday at the United Center (NBCSP). Even that slightly understates their turnaround. Since their well-publicized team meeting on Nov. 18, the Sixers have been a more aggressive team. In their next matchup, they suffered a 117-111 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum, a fifth straight loss.

Maxey and Co. have won four of seven games after opening the season 2-12. And they’ve accomplished this turnaround without their franchise player, Joel Embiid, who has missed 17 of this season’s 21 games. If his injured left knee holds up, the 2023 NBA MVP should provide a major lift once he returns. The seven-time All-Star is listed as questionable against the Bulls.

For now, the undermanned Sixers have established a hardworking identity. But if we’re honest, there still was a lot of skepticism surrounding their recent victories over struggling and undermanned teams until Friday’s 102-94 victory over the Orlando Magic.

At 16-9, the Magic entered Saturday with the third-best record in the Eastern Conference. Even though it was without Paolo Banchero and Jonathan Isaac, Orlando still was loaded with young talent, led by All-Star candidate Franz Wagner.

The 6-foot-10 swingman scored 30 points on Friday, two nights after scoring 35 in a 106-102 win over the Sixers.

So this definitely was a signature win for the Sixers, whose previous victories came against the struggling Charlotte Hornets (twice, Tuesday and Nov. 10), the Detroit Pistons (Nov. 30), the Brooklyn Nets (Nov. 22), and the Indiana Pacers (Oct. 27).

“Right now, we are looking at them all the same,” Maxey said of the victory. “Just win, you know? I mean it doesn’t matter if we are playing the first seed, the 15th, 16th seed. We just need to win.

“But, yeah, [the Magic] are a good team. They are well-coached. They play hard. They know how they want to score the ball. They know who they got to get the ball to, and they defend.”

» READ MORE: Sixers forward KJ Martin’s improved shooting is opening up the rest of his game

With a favorable upcoming stretch, the Sixers have an opportunity to begin an ascent from near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

They entered Saturday with the conference’s third-worst record. The Sixers have a winnable four-game stretch against the Bulls (10-14), the Pacers (10-14) on Friday, and the Hornets (6-17) on Dec. 16 in Charlotte, N.C., and Dec. 20 at home.

“Listen,” coach Nick Nurse said. “Go back to seven games, six of them we played pretty well. I would have liked to go 3-3. We should have probably snuck one of the other ones that went down to the wire.”

The three setbacks during that stretch were a 125-99 rout against the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 24, a 122-115 overtime loss to the Houston Rockets three days later, and Wednesday’s close setback to Magic, all at home.

“I think they’re playing together,” Nurse said. “There’s good spirit. Energy is good. The defense has certainly gotten a lot better. Our menu of what we can do defensively is getting better all the time.”

The Sixers played two different zone coverages on Friday after playing three different zones in previous games. Players are switching and blitzing while helping each other more on defense.

Their recent success also is the result of Nurse finding the right rotation.

In the process, KJ Martin has gone from someone whose best attribute was having one of the league’s most tradable contracts to being a solid contributor off the bench. He’s one of the young, athletic players the Sixers now are playing over the wiser-but-older-and-slower offseason acquisitions.

The Sixers realize that they’re still far from their goal of being an NBA championship contender.

» READ MORE: Sixers takeaways: KJ Martin steps up, Paul George excels at point forward

“It’s obviously been really tough,” Nurse said. “You go into a season, and you have your thoughts on things, and our players, the three main guys [Maxey, Embiid, and Paul George], have played together 6 minutes through 21 games. That isn’t good. One of our guys [George] has played half the games. Joel has played four or five, however it’s been.

“I’ll just reiterate the last [seven] games, they played pretty well. I’m proud as heck as these guys. They’re really working and trying to figure it out. I think they’re undersized and outmanned and all that stuff. But they’re fighting like heck.”