Jared McCain’s 29 points can’t save Sixers as they fall to 2-10 after loss to Orlando Magic

ORLANDO — Joel Embiid got off to a dominant start but felt his legs fatigue down the stretch. Paul George never found an offensive groove. And Jared McCain could not maintain his blistering scoring pace before fouling out.

That all led to the 76ers’ eighth defeat in their first 10 games to continue their disastrous start to a much-anticipated season. This time, it was a 98-86 loss to the Orlando Magic on Friday night at the Kia Center.

“They were making it really difficult for us to do a lot of things,” coach Nick Nurse said. “With their pressure, it probably doesn’t help when a team’s not in great sync, anyway. So they’re being very disruptive, and it just got really difficult for us. The shot clock was running deep a bunch, and we just couldn’t quite figure it out.”

The Sixers fell in what Nurse said pregame was a “must-win” for multiple reasons. His team needs a swift turnaround following their injury-riddled start. And after losing Tuesday against the New York Knicks, the Sixers almost certainly are out of contention for the knockout rounds of the NBA Cup, the league’s in-season tournament.

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The Magic (8-6) flipped a nine-point third-quarter deficit into a double-digit lead in the final period. Orlando put the game away when Franz Wagner (game-high 31 points, 11 rebounds, six assists) followed a transition layup by his brother, Moritz Wagner, with a three-pointer and Jalen Suggs (19 points, seven rebounds) banged home a deep shot to push their team’s lead to 92-82 with 3 minutes, 10 seconds remaining.

While Embiid paced the Sixers in the first half with an efficient 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting, he scored just four points and missed all seven of his shot attempts after the break and also finished with six turnovers. Instead, McCain was the third-quarter spark with 15 of his 29 points in the period, including a trio of threes to help the Sixers to their nine-point lead. It was the fourth consecutive 20-point game for McCain, the No. 16 pick in the 2024 draft whose play has been the silver lining during the Sixers’ early-season struggles.

It was the fifth win in a row for the Magic, who also moved to a perfect 7-0 at home while playing without All-Star Paolo Banchero. Their stingy defense held their fifth consecutive opponent to less than 100 points.

Embiid’s outing came after a rusty debut on Tuesday against the Knicks, before he sat out Wednesday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers to manage his surgically repaired left knee. The opposite was true for George, who scored a season-high 29 points against the Knicks, also sat out Wednesday’s loss, then went 4-of-15 from the floor for 13 points, five assists, and four rebounds Friday. The Sixers’ splashy free-agent signing, who is coming off a preseason bone bruise in his left knee, missed his first eight shots before draining a three-pointer in the second quarter’s final minute.

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The Sixers also continue to wait for their All-Star trio to play together. Point guard Tyrese Maxey missed his fifth consecutive game with a hamstring injury but has resumed on-court work and will be reevaluated early next week, the team said.

Nurse, meanwhile, tinkered with the rotation Friday. To keep McCain in the starting lineup, Kelly Oubre Jr. (five points, four rebounds in 25:32) moved to a bench role. Guerschon Yabusele (four points, two rebounds in 24:25) also was Embiid’s backup at center in place of an ill Drummond, who played 3 minutes, 49 seconds in the first half.

The Sixers continue their three-game road trip Monday at the Miami Heat (7:30 p.m., NBCSP), before traveling to face the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday (8 p.m., NBCSP+).