Sixers-Magic takeaways: Success hinges on Joel Embiid’s knee, Tyrese Maxey becoming closer, Tobias Harris’ solid defense

The 76ers can only hope Joel Embiid’s knee is no longer a serious concern.

Tyrese Maxey has established himself as a closer regardless of who’s on the floor. And Tobias Harris’ defense is a major bonus.

Those three things stood out in the Sixers’ 125-113 victory over the Orlando Magic Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Sixers are hoping Embiid doesn’t have any swelling or damage to his left knee Saturday morning.

That’s because their postseason success could depend heavily on the reigning MVP’s knee. Embiid injured the knee after scoring on a Euro step to the basket with 1 minute, 38 seconds left in the second quarter.

He returned at the start of the second half, and finished the game with 32 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists.

“We’ll have to make sure we assess it again tomorrow morning and see what happens,” coach Nick Nurse said following the game. ”But you saw him, he looked fine.”

This was only Embiid’s fifth game back after tearing his left meniscus against the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 30. He was not available to address the media after the game.

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

However, the Sixers lose a lot when the 7-foot-2, 280-pounder is unavailable to play. They’re 31-8 when he plays and 15-27 without him.

The team will have a tough time being successful without him in the postseason. So they can only hope that everything is fine.

Maxey — not Embiid — was the player that willed the Sixers (46-35) to victory over the Magic (46-35).

After Orlando pulled within seven points with 8:46 remaining, the All-Star guard scored nine of the Sixers’ next 13 points. His final basket gave them a 117-107 lead with 4:01 left.

Maxey’s not at a point in his career where he waives Embiid away to take over the scoring. But on this night, he didn’t tell Embiid, “I got us.”

“There were a couple of times, the last few times that we had close games in the fourth quarter, against the Heat and today, then right now I got us,” Maxey said. “Him being out [with the knee injury] was bad. But it was a blessing in disguise, I think. It kind of had me grow up a little bit and kind of grow into this role. So that’s good.”

Maxey and Embiid know the moments when the former needs to score the ball and be aggressive. In all, Maxey scored 11 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter.

Paolo Banchero finished with 22 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists. However, the Magic’s All-Star power forward struggled from the field, making just 7-of-24 shots. A lot of that had to do with Harris’ defensive effort.

» READ MORE: NBA playoff picture: Sixers can still avoid the play-in tournament, but need help

“He’s a tough player and a strong player,” Harris said of the 6-10, 250-pounder. “I tried to use my physicality with him. Force him into taking some tough looks on the floor and contest and be there every possession. I tried picking him up full [court] a few plays as well to kind of change his momentum.”

And it all worked out. This was Banchero’s sixth-worst shooting performance of the season. Harris finished with two steals and two blocks while scoring 14 points.