Sixers-Magic takeaways: Tyrese Maxey can excel without Joel Embiid; Patrick Beverley’s comments infuriate Orlando fans

ORLANDO, Fla. — Tyrese Maxey showed he’s capable of leading the 76ers to victory without Joel Embiid.

The Sixers displayed a defensive intensity after intermission. And the Orlando Magic fans have a strong dislike for Patrick Beverley.

These three things stood out in the Sixers’ 112-92 victory over the Magic Wednesday night at the Kia Center.

As good as Maxey has been playing alongside Embiid, the point guard’s shooting had mostly struggled when the reigning MVP was sidelined.

Wednesday marked the fifth game that Embiid missed this season. The Sixers were 0-4 in those games with Maxey playing in three of them.

He had averaged 20.3 points in those contests. But he shot just 37.5% from the field, including making just 4 of 23 three-point attempts (17.3%).

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Maxey, in his fourth year in the NBA, struggled when the Sixers needed him to take charge. He did the opposite of that against the Magic (18-12).

Maxey finished with a team-high 23 points on 9-for-18 shooting, including making 3 of 6 three-pointers. Twelve of his points came in the second quarter on 5-for-7 shooting.

This came one game after scoring 12 points on 4-for-20 with Embiid sidelined in a loss to the Miami Heat.

“Honestly, I didn’t do anything different,” Maxey said. “They trapped me more tonight, though. I didn’t try to go out there and be ultra, ultra, ultra aggressive at the beginning. I kind of let it come to me. Shot fell… same shot I have been making all year.”

Perhaps.

But this performance may go a long way in showing he can lead the Sixers to victory without Embiid.

“He reads the game well,” said coach Nick Nurse. “He blasted in there when he saw an opening, played through some bumps, got some space for some threes when those were open. You probably saw we got him off the ball a little more tonight.

“So he was the recipient of some weak side stuff, too. Great bounce back. … I’m sure he’s happier today than he was a couple of days ago.”

The Magic missed 15 of their 20 shots in the fourth quarter. They also made just 3 of 12 three-pointers. Standout second-year player Paolo Banchero, last season’s rookie of the year, made just 1 of 6 shots in the quarter. Meanwhile, Jalen Suggs, who had torched the Sixers earlier, went 0-for-3 in the fourth.

“We got a lot of deflections, got a lot of runs out, and it was our first time trying some different things,” Maxey said. “Kind of Nick Nurse opening that toolbox. He did some different things out there, defensively. It really worked. Guys buy in and when guys buy in like that to some of coach Nurse’s crazy schemes, it really helps us. It has been great.”

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Beverley wasn’t fazed at all by the boos he received from Magic fans, who took exception to what he made about the team on his Pat Bev Podcast in October.

“Everywhere I go I get booed,” Beverley said. “I think that’s a sign of respect. It actually helps me get going. But on my Pat Bev pod I mentioned that I really didn’t know about Orlando yet because it was still early. I guess they took it kind of serious, took it personal.

“They wanted to give me some boos. But that’s part of my career, I’m used to it.”

» READ MORE: Sixers secure an impressive, 112-92, victory over Orlando Magic without Joel Embiid

On his podcast, Beverley didn’t hold back his criticism for the Magic after learning that ESPN’s player rankings for this season had Banchero ranked No. 30 and Franz Wagner No. 52.

“If you got two people in the Top 100 on your team, the Orlando Magic, you should be winning games,” Beverley said on his podcast. “If you have two people that are under the Top 50, you should make the (freaking) playoffs. Why are you so bad? If everyone on the team is nice, why are you so bad?”