It’s a cliché for a reason – it’s hard to beat a team twice in a row.

The Sixers got their win back, defeating the Orlando Magic 102-94 on Friday night.

Paul George returned to the lineup and led the Sixers with 21 points and nine assists. He shot 8 of 19 from the floor and 2 of 7 from three balls.

Tyrese Maxey once again had a below-average game by his standards, finishing the game with 16 points on 5 of 17 shooting.

For the second time this week, KJ Martin had the most points as a Sixer. He finished the game with 20 points on 9 of 10 shooting and three rebounds. Franz Wagner was again at the top of all scorers with 30 points.

While Andre Drummond returned to the lineup after a two-game absence, Adem Bona joined the ranks of injured centers who were unable to play for the Sixers. Nick Nurse elected to return to the same starting lineup that sent Jared McCain to the bench before Drummond’s injury.

Here are some thoughts on the buzzer.

First quarter

• A lot of isoball early in this game from the Sixers as George took their first four shots of the game and knocked down a couple from mid-range. Once he got his legs under control, he opened up the offense – finding Guerschon Yabusele for an and-1 and Maxey getting on the board with a catch-and-shoot three-pointer.

• It was a particularly strong start for KJ Martin, who was part of the first substitution group of the evening. He got on the board with an And-1 and knocked down a corner three moments later. It wasn’t necessarily a contested three-pointer, but he didn’t have all day to make it, like most of his attempts this season. He also impressively intercepted a full-court lob from George as he had 10 in the first quarter.
• One person who had an even better start than on Wednesday was Franz Wagner, who scored 15 points in the first round. Even with a bigger starting lineup, nothing the Sixers threw at him stopped him early.
• For McCain, however, it was a slightly different story. Although he found Martin for his third corner, he had two turnovers to match his two assists and only took one shot, which he missed. He found Martin again in the dunker spot, cutting the Magic lead to two after the first.

Second quarter

• Caleb Martin appeared to twist his ankle in the first quarter and briefly went back to the locker room. He was back after a few minutes in the second, but with all the injuries he’s picking up, it might be best to stop trying to play through them all.
• Regardless, it was a great start to the quarter for the Sixers as it took the Magic nearly four minutes to score their first points. Drummond bullied Moe Wagner, both getting to the basket and on the offensive glass. A three-pointer from George capped a 10-0 run and triggered a Magic timeout.

• While Franz Wagner did his best, there was no offensive production anywhere else in Orlando. Midway through the second period, the rest of the starting lineup had only made two field goals. The Magic shot 0 of 13 from three and 19% from the field in the second period.
• The quality of shots the Sixers created didn’t deteriorate until the end of the half, but they started missing more open shots. They made just two field goals in the final 5:12 minutes, but the second was a wide-open layup for Yabusele as time expired to give the Sixers a nine-point lead at halftime.

Third quarter

• The start of the second half wasn’t exactly smooth for the Sixers’ offense either. They turned it over a few times, between Yabu spitting it out and an offensive foul on Drummond. Even George missed a wide-open dunk attempt when Goga Bitadze moved out of his way.
• It was a very quiet first half for Maxey, who only had those three points. He looked for his shot a little more as the third period progressed, but it wasn’t an immediate solution as a lengthy 12-5 Magic run led to Nurse calling a timeout.
• The quarter certainly showed why these are two of the bottom ten teams in the league offensively. Neither team shot better than 45% from the field, while the Magic turned the ball over eight times. However, the Sixers were able to finish the game strong. Maxey managed to get a couple of layups and hit McCain for a three-pointer, giving them a 12-point lead heading into the fourth.

Fourth quarter

• Perhaps both teams saved the offense just for when it really mattered. The Sixers stayed hot with another KJ dunk and a few buckets for PG. Orlando scored on five straight possessions, prompting Nurse to call a timeout.

• This timeout helped stabilize things as the Sixers emerged from the slump and extended their lead back to double digits. George found Yabu for a corner three and Kelly Oubre Jr. jumped up for a putback dunk on the next possession.
• The Magic continued to hit shots to hang around, and the Sixers’ issues at the free throw line didn’t help. A three-pointer by Jalen Suggs cut the lead to four with 54 seconds left, then the Magic were able to foul Yabusele, who missed both at the line. After Suggs airballed on the next possession, it was Yabusele again who was sent to the line. This time he did both, making it a six-point game with 27 seconds left, and that ended up being enough to get them over the hump.
• The Sixers will hit the road again. Their next game is Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET against the Bulls in Chicago. For anyone who would rather see this team than a 10-2 Eagles squad, we’ve come to the right place here at Liberty Ballers.