Jared McCain shines again as Joel Embiid, Paul George struggle in loss to Magic

Anyone wanna get Jared McCain some help?

The Sixers fell 98-86 to the Orlando Magic on Friday night, dropping to 2-10 on the season and 0-2 in NBA Cup play.

McCain was again incredibly brilliant, finishing with 29 points on 10-of-17 from the floor and 5-of-10 from three-point range. He fouled out with 4:56 left in the game and the Sixers, already teetering, just fell apart.

Joel Embiid got off to a strong start but was unable to sustain it. He finished with 20 points and eight rebounds. He shot 5-of-15 from the floor and didn’t make a field goal in the second half.

Paul George was free all night, finishing with 13 points on 4-of-15 shooting. No other Sixers came close to double digits. Franz Wagner led all scorers with 31.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First quarter

• Even with a healthier rotation, Nick Nurse still decided to shake things up. Jared McCain was inserted into the starting lineup for Kelly Oubre Jr, but McCain didn’t really touch the ball in his first five minutes. While Embiid got off to a good start, the rest of the starting lineup was not. George, in particular, was 0-for-6 in the quarter and even missed his technical free throw. He had a pair of assists and three steals, but couldn’t buy a bucket early.
• Guerschon Yabusele was the backup five tonight and checked in after six minutes. While Andre Drummond dressed tonight, but it was unclear that he was actually able to go. Rebounding was a mess early across both ranks. Orlando had grabbed their fourth offensive rebound, while the Sixers had four rebounds in total. The Sixers also had a three-minute scoreless stretch that ended with a 9-0 Magic run.
• Embiid checked in and ended the run with an odd one-handed floater he tapped in. McCain threw a really nice pass to Yabusele in transition that cut the lead to three at the end of one.

Second Quarter

• The Sixers were able to build on that as they started the second on an 8-1 run. It was very clear that Embiid felt much more comfortable than Tuesday as he made five of his first six shots with relative ease. McCain, who said earlier this week that he wants to get at least one dunk this season, got that opportunity tonight.

• Well, it turns out that Drummond was available when he replaced Embiid five minutes into the second. It took him three attempts to complete a lob or dump off — the first two ended in a stuffed dunk and an airball he caught. The Sixers scored four points during the nearly four minutes Embiid sat with PG still unable to get a shot to fall. However, they held the Magic to just two during that stretch.
• Once Embiid checked in, the offense picked up again. McCain got a transition three going and snuck a scoop layup around Jonathan Isaac of all people. George finally got on the board with a catch-and-shoot three. On the other end, Kentavious-Caldwell Pope got a very friendly front layup on a three that cut it to just a two-point Sixers lead at the half.

Third Quarter

• McCain had some good plays in the first half, but came out of the break very hot. His threes dropped and was able to finish most drives either with a basket or by getting to the free throw line. His 15 points in the third marked his fourth straight game with at least 20 points.

• For the first time tonight, the Sixers were able to stabilize when Embiid went to the bench. George finally getting something to fall helped. He already hit more threes in the third than he did in the entire first half.
• The Sixers had a really bad end to what had been a strong quarter. Orlando was able to force them to take low quality contested shots. Embiid was stripped by holding the basketball way too carelessly. Another 9-0 run gave the Magic a one-point lead to close the quarter.

Fourth Quarter

• After stretching the quarter, the Sixers went over six minutes without scoring. They picked up a shot clock violation and a five-second violation early in the fourth. Embiid looked tired and fell short on his shot attempts.
• Of course, it was McCain who made their first field goal in nearly eight minutes by knocking down a three. He also impressively spun around Jalen Suggs in the paint to get to his layup. At the other end, however, Franz Wagner was able to catch him red-handed for his sixth foul of the night.

• It’s alarming how much this offense needed a 20-year-old rookie to manage them tonight. Whenever the offense was run through George or Embiid, it ended up in rather uninspiring isolations. With how little margin for error the team has, this was one of those two guys needed to win for them.
• This road trip will be in Florida as the Sixers next game is against the Miami Heat on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.