Sixers’ streak-snapping loss to Orlando Magic reexposes biggest weaknesses

Tobias Harris fumbled a pass from James Harden following a rebound, which the Orlando Magic flipped the other way for a Paolo Banchero dunk that gave them an eight-point lead with less than a minute to play.

That was the final nail in one of the 76ers’ more disappointing losses this season, a rare blemish during a terrific seven-week run. Following a torrid start to Monday’s contest, the Sixers blew a 21-point first-half lead against the 20-31 Magic and sputtered down the stretch of a 119-109 defeat to snap their seven-game winning streak.

Coach Doc Rivers and All-NBA contender Joel Embiid stressed that they refuse to overreact to one game, because even the NBA’s best teams post clunkers and let advantages slip during an 82-game gauntlet. And at 32-17, the Sixers remain the Eastern Conference’s third-best team entering a Wednesday rematch against the Magic in Game 50.

Yet reserve wing Matisse Thybulle said following Monday’s shootaround that the Sixers’ primary task during this surge is “playing the right way and being ourselves,” adding that they had sometimes relied on their talent over collective execution. Hours later, Harden used “a little complacent” to describe Monday’s performance, while Rivers said the Sixers “probably needed the game” in order to refocus.

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Monday reexposed practically all of the Sixers’ biggest weaknesses — which they must limit in order to be a true East contender — as they near the Feb. 9 trade deadline and All-Star break the following week.

The Sixers rank 28th out of 30 NBA teams with 16.5 fastbreak points allowed per game this season. They were even worse against the Magic, surrendering 28.

Communication, awareness, and covering ground are all keys to preventing those opportunities for easy buckets — as is the decision to crash the glass or get back on defense.

Until recently, poor transition defense had been the knock on an otherwise excellent unit that had ranked in the NBA’s top five in efficiency for the bulk of the season. But that has slipped in January — the Sixers have allowed 118 points per 100 possessions, which ranks 24th during that span — even as the team as a whole has ascended. It’s part of the reason Rivers reinserted active perimeter pest De’Anthony Melton into the starting lineup, as Harden and Tyrese Maxey are both below average on that end of the floor.

Within the last week, the Sixers beat the Brooklyn Nets despite allowing them to shoot 64% from the floor. Three days later, the Nuggets connected on 66% of their first-half field-goal attempts before a couple of key personnel adjustments, including having veteran bruiser P.J. Tucker guard back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic. Throughout the month, allowing dribble penetration has set up open three-point looks, Rivers said.

Against the Magic, though, Rivers lamented a lack of physicality that contributed to Orlando’s 35-point second quarter and 42-point third period to fuel its comeback.

“I just thought we turned it off and couldn’t get it back,” the coach said.

The Sixers have been solid at protecting the ball, ranking 12th in the league with 14 turnovers per game. Yet losing the ball too many times has been a common theme in their losses — including the 19 giveaways Monday that Orlando conveyed into 20 points.

“It’s really been the story of our season,” Embiid said. “If we take care of the ball, we usually put ourselves in great situations.”

Though Harden credited the Magic for amping up their defensive pressure, he still defined his team’s ball control as “careless, for whatever reason.” Five of those turnovers came in the final period, which caused hiccups in the crunch-time offense that has been sound recently to finish off close victories.

“We’ve still got to be secure with the ball,” Harden said. “We’ve still got to hit our targets on point, and we just didn’t do a good job of that.”

The Sixers rank 28th in rebounding (40.6 per game) and lost that statistical category, 50-45, Monday night. That included 15 offensive rebounds, which Orlando turned into 22 second-chance points.

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That’s actually been a rarity this season, as the Sixers rank seventh in the league in second-chance points allowed (13 per game). But the lack of rebounding has been part of the reason why the Sixers put up 84.8 shots per game, which is 26th in the NBA, and score only 11.1 second-chance points per game, which ranks 28th.