On Monday night, the Philadelphia 76ers welcomed the Orlando Magic into the Xfinity Mobile Arena as they looked to raise their record to a spotless 3-0. They’d do so as they took down the Magic, 136-124, with Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe leading the way for Philadelphia – combining for 69 points.
This doesn’t tell the whole story of the match, as the Magic had several players drop double digit numbers on the offensive end, with Paolo Banchero recording a team-high 32 points.
Here are some takeaways from Philadelphia’s victory over Orlando!
While the Sixers were able to have Joel Embiid take to the court in the opening two matches of the season, that wasn’t the case for the win against Orlando on Monday night, as the Cameroonian sat out due to injury management in regards to his left knee.
Oct 27, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe (77) drives against Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. (34) during the third quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
At one point in time this would’ve been a massive disservice to the Sixers, however through an overall team effort, they successfully made up for the absence of Embiid. While the aforementioned Edgecombe and Maxey would make up for the scoring left by Embiid’s shadow, Kelly Oubre Jr would fill in the rebounding department, recording ten boards across his 39 minutes of game time.
Given that the Sixers and Embiid are going to be “listening” to his body, which could result in missed game time, Monday night’s victory goes a long way in showing that the team can be successful when the former MVP needs to rest.
If there has been one constant to follow the Sixers over their opening three games of the season, it would be the often gritty way in which they pull out the victory. In Boston, it was separated by one point with Payton Pritchard having the opportunity to win the game for the Celtics, and against Charlotte, the Sixers relied on a late surge to get the win.
Oct 27, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Kelly Oubre Jr. (9) falls over Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs (4) while going for the ball during the third quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
The win against Orlando, while not going back and forth like the first two matches of the season, was still as gritty. This came in the form of the foul trouble Philadelphia found themselves in during the first half, going into halftime with three players having three personal fouls, which forced Nick Nurse to go deep into his bench, bringing on the likes of Hunter Sallis and Eric Gordon.
When all was said and done, Quentin Grimes found himself on the bench as a result of his sixth foul, with the aforementioned Maxey committing five fouls by the sound of the final buzzer. Their physicality will be something to watch in the coming matches.
As previously mentioned, given the foul trouble that the Sixers found themselves in early on, Nurse opted to use the aforementioned Gordon. This would be the Bahamian veteran’s first appearance of the season, and he’d make it count, draining two shots from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter, ending his night with eight points.
the Bahamian connection. 🇧🇸 pic.twitter.com/m8KomuqQTn
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 28, 2025
While not being the most appealing stat, the timing of the shots was more important, as his first bucket dropped when the Magic were still within closing distance of Philadelphia. This ability to shoot the three-ball is something that Gordon did well last season, converting on 40.9 percent of his shots.