Sixers top the Orlando Magic to win their seventh straight but remain in play-in tournament picture

Even when things were at their worst, some of the 76ers targeted an automatic postseason berth. And they’re on the cusp of making that a reality.

Friday’s 125-113 victory over the Orlando Magic briefly put the Sixers in sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings with one game remaining. However, just a few minutes after the final buzzer, they slipped back into seventh because the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Indiana Pacers.

The Sixers, Magic, and Pacers have identical 46-35 records. To avoid the play-in tournament, Philly must defeat the Brooklyn Nets in Sunday’s regular-season finale and need a loss from Indiana or Orlando.

» READ MORE: Former Sixers star Allen Iverson fights back tears during statue unveiling: ‘It don’t even feel real’

Kelly Oubre Jr. said he’s not concerned with the seedings.

“But at the end of the day, I know how the game works,” he said. “We don’t get to be successful unless we take care of each and every game in front of us. Obviously, it’s good to know that stuff, but it just kind of adds extra pressure and extra anxiety onto a stressful league. I’m not, but, at the end of the day, I’m just trying to go out there and perform and win every game that we play.”

The top six seeds in each conference automatically qualify for NBA playoffs, which begin April 20.

Meanwhile, the teams that finish seventh through 10th will compete in the play-in tournament for the final two playoff spots. That tournament runs from Tuesday to Friday.

The seventh- and eighth-place finishers will get two chances to win a play-in game. The ninth- and 10th-place teams will meet, with the winner needing an additional victory to secure a playoff berth.

Though they’re still in the play-in zone, the Sixers extended their winning streak to seven games. They had a scare, though.

Joel Embiid went to the locker room with 1 minute, 15 seconds left in the half after appearing to injure his left knee. But after being checked out, the seven-time All-Star was back on the court at the start of the second half.

“I mean, you have to keep playing. You have to finish out the half, which we did, thankfully,” Tyrese Maxey said of his thoughts when Embiid checked out of the game. “But we got back here, we checked on him, see if he was all right, and he was good to go, so that’s a blessing.”

Embiid finished with 32 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists in 32:01. He made 10 of 23 shots, including 4 of 7 three-pointers, and also went 8-for-9 from the foul line.

Maxey, who also had a scare in a fourth-quarter collision with Jalen Suggs, added 28 points while making 5-of-10 three-pointers. Maxey scored 11 of his points in the fourth quarter. Forwards Kelly Oubre Jr. (21 points, nine rebounds) and Tobias Harris (14 points, two blocks and two steals) were the Sixers’ other double-figure scorers.

Orlando was led by power forward Paolo Banchero, who finished with 22 points, a game-high 15 rebounds, and seven assists. However, the All-Star made just 7 of 24 shots while being mostly guarded by Harris. Franz Wagner had 24 points.

But Embiid almost took the life out of the building after appearing to hurt his knee late in the second quarter.

He hurt his knee after scoring on a Euro step to the basket at the 1:38 mark. This was Embiid’s fifth game back after knee surgery on Feb. 6. The reigning MVP tore the meniscus in his left knee on Jan. 30 against the Golden State Warriors.

Before the injury, Embiid was cooking the Magic. He had 21 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists in 17:41 of game action in the first half. He made 6 of 12 shots, including 3 of 5 three-pointers. He also hit 6 of 7 foul shots.

Then the 7-foot-2, 280-pounder emerged from the locker room after intermission and scored five of the Sixers’ first seven points to give them a 76-64 lead.

The Sixers went on to take a 12-point victory.

“It’s scary, of course,” Oubre said of when Embiid left the game. “We’re all professionals. We play through stuff, my eye is messed up, too. I know he’s a soldier, and I know that he’s tough and he’ll fight through whatever.

“But at the end of the day, we all care for each other outside of basketball, and I just want him to be 100 percent right and make sure he’s good. Obviously, everybody gasped for a second, everybody’s heart dropped, you hear the crowd, but [Joel] is a fighter. He used to fight lions, and tigers, and bears, and stuff like that. So this basketball stuff is like that same level.”

Kyle Lowry scored seven points in his return after missing the last two games with a left knee effusion. Meanwhile, reserve forward KJ Martin missed his second straight with a left great toe contusion.

For the Sixers squad, with the fifth-most wins (151) over the last three seasons, earning the sixth spot seems like a letdown. Yet considering they looked like a lottery team while Embiid was sidelined the past two months, not being in the play-in tourney would be a major accomplishment.

The team was booed in consecutive losses to the struggling and undermanned Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans in March. That came after they lost to a depleted Nets squad in Brooklyn.

» READ MORE: Sixers mailbag: ‘Will the Sixers look to keep Tobias Harris on the bench?’

But first-year coach Nick Nurse, whose squad had 35 different starting lineups, has the Sixers on their second-longest winning streak of the season.

“Through the trials and tribulations of all year, the rain doesn’t pour forever” Oubre said. “So we’re starting to see some sunshine. We just have to continue to focus on each and every day, every game, and this is a great time to kind of click.”

Sunday’s game against the Nets will be at 1 p.m. Brooklyn (32-48) has won two of this season’s first three meetings. Shooting guard Cam Thomas led the Nets in scoring with 22.2 points through 80 games. Former Villanova and Great Valley High School standout Mikal Bridges was second on the team at 19.9.