Sixers vs. Magic takeaways: Resilient group, deeper bench, better ball movement

ORLANDO — The 76ers are resilient, deeper than expected, and tough to beat when there’s ball movement.

Below is my look at three things that stood out during Sunday night’s 133-103 victory at the Amway Center during the first 20 games.

The Sixers (11-9) produced their most-dominant performance of the season. And it came without their three leading scorers in Joel Embiid, James Harden and Tyrese Maxey.

They had a season-high 32 assists on 50 made baskets. Their 133 points were also a season high.

» READ MORE: Sixers complete sweep of Magic with 133-103 road victory

Some will take those statistics with a grain of salt because they came against the struggling Magic (5-15), who were also undermanned.

But this was the fourth game the Sixers were without Embiid (left mid-foot sprain), Harden (right foot tendon strain) and Maxey (left foot fracture).

“Our resilience [stood out],” Sixers coach Doc Rivers said of the first 20 games. “We lose James Harden, Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid and you win three out of four. That tells you a team that’s connected and believes they can be a really good team.”

The Sixers defeated the Brooklyn Nets Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Center before losing Wednesday night to the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center. They then swept the Friday and Sunday two-game series against the Magic in Central Florida.

The Sixers improved to 9-5 in games when their starting lineup was not intact. They’re 2-4 with their regular starting lineup of Tobias Harris, P.J. Tucker, Embiid, Maxey and Harden.

In addition to being resilient, the Sixers are deeper than some might have envisioned.

Harris had been relegated to standing in the corner as the fourth option when Embiid, Harden and Maxey played.

But he’s played like someone deserving of being more involved since Harden became the first of the three to become injured on Nov. 2. Sunday was his latest example.

Harris scored 25 points on 10-for-14 shooting to go with five rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block.

Shake Milton finished with a season-high 29 points on 10-for-13 shooting along with seven assists and one steal. Not bad for someone who didn’t play in four of the first five games of the season. Yet he’s averaged 23.6 points and 6.6 assists while starting in place of Maxey the last five games.

Then there’s Paul Reed, who finished with 12 points and career-high 13 rebounds.This marked his second double-double in the last four games. Not bad for someone who didn’t play in three of the first four games this season.

And Furkan Korkmaz had 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting, including making all three of his three-pointers, along with four assists and a block as the sixth man. Earlier in the season, he seldom played as the last man off the bench.

Harris, Milton, Reed and Korkmaz are just four examples of players thriving while getting an opportunity.

“Everybody on the team can hoop, can go,” Reed said. “The Sixers aren’t bringing anybody on the team that can’t go. So I feel like everybody can go.

“We are deep.”

On Sunday, the Sixers had six double-digit scorers and nine of their 11 guys that played scored. But that wasn’t surprising to Harris.

“We got a lot of guys who can play ball,” he said. “A very deep team.”

The Sixers are always preaching, ‘We not me’ in regards to playing together as a team.

That wasn’t always the case early in the season as the ball seemed stuck. But since being undermanned, the slogan has been fitting.

That was highlighted Sunday night by their season-high 32 assists on 50 made baskets.

» READ MORE: P.J. Tucker needs to feel involved on offense for Sixers to succeed and avoid Al Horford 2.0

“We’re at our best when we play for each other,” Harris said. “We are able to go out there and have a great flow to it how we play.”

Reed believes the first 20 games of the season show that they’re an unselfish team.

‘We want to see each other succeed,” he said. “I think that’s one of the best parts about this group, is our unselfishness and how we are willing to come together and do what’s best for the team at all times.”