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JJ Redick breaks shooting slump with 26 points as Sixers beat Magic

Redick went into Tuesday having shot just 25 percent from three-point range over the last five games. But that was all in the rear-view mirror against the Magic.

JJ Redick finished with 26 points in the Sixers' win on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Center.
JJ Redick finished with 26 points in the Sixers' win on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Center.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer

It was just a matter of time before JJ Redick broke out of his shooting slump.

Redick, who scored 19 of his 26 points in the first half, led the 76ers to a 114-106 win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

Despite the shooting spree by Redick the Sixers needed every bit of what Jimmy Butler and Mike Scott gave them in the final moments of the game as the Magic stayed within striking distance.

“Jimmy went through the first half, the gym was moving, the ball was moving, people were scoring,” Brett Brown said. “When it got to the stage of the game when we needed something a little different, a little more, he was there.”

Quiet through most of the night, Butler had two huge step-back jumpers that kept the Magic from taking the lead. Then, with just a three-point lead and less than a minute to play, Scott secured a rebound, waved for the crowd to get on its feet and hit a deep three on the other end to take a 108-102 lead.

The Magic tried their best to claw back but Tobias Harris, who finished with 21 points, hit free throws that put the game out of reach. Though free throws are not the flashiest plays, Harris said that those situations at the end of games are high-pressure moments that are going to be important, especially when the postseason rolls around.

“Being able to have the confidence step up and make them and not give the other team encouragement to come down and have a chance to knock down a three or get fouled, those are big plays,” Harris said. “Best believe those are going to big for us in the playoffs.”

You wouldn’t have even known that Redick had been plagued by a slump with the way he came out of the gate on Tuesday, and that was something that Magic head coach Steve Clifford was worried about before the game even started.

“It’s his pace of play; there’s not many guys like him,” Clifford said. “Just the combination of skill level and the speed with which he can cut and finish plays at.”

Redick went into Tuesday’s game having shot just 25 percent from three-point range over the last five contests including two single-digit performances, the only such games he’s had this season. On Saturday, in a loss to the Warriors Redick wen’t 2-of-9 from three and finished with just six points. But that was all in the rear-view mirror against the Magic.

“It hasn’t been a great post-All-Star break shooting-wise for me,” Redick said. “You’re going to have high points and low points throughout the year, you kind of accept that. Saturday night was a low point...tonight I was happy to see some shots go in.”

Redick finished the night shooting 6-of-9 from three and 8-of-16 overall. He wasn’t the only one that had a good offensive night, which was also something that worried Clifford.

“They have a different team, and no [Joel] Embiid, which takes away a post presence, but they’re five-out right now the whole game,” Clifford said. “So there’s a lot of room up there and they’re very much on the attack offensively.”

All five Sixers starters and Scott finished in double-digits. Even former Magic player Jonathon Simmons hit a third-quarter buzzer-beating three and finished with six points.

It wasn’t just Embiid (knee soreness) the Sixers were missing. Both Boban Marjanovic (knee sprain) and Jonah Bolden (sinusitis) were sidelined as well and Brown didn’t know that Amir Johnson, who has been dealing with back tightness, would be available to start until about three hours before tipoff.

With the depleted front court, center Justin Patton was brought up from the Delaware Blue Coats and saw his first minutes in a Sixers uniform. Patton played just over nine minutes, but this game was another chance for Brown to work with some smaller lineups which is where he went when the game was on the line.

“You look at Amir Johnson the work that has put in, we all know the season he’s had...and Justin Patton, and the job that Mike Scott did, those three guys did a great job.”

The Sixers will likely be in a similar situation when they play in Chicago on the second night of a back-to-back Wednesday. Embiid will not be traveling with the team when they visit the Bulls. But Brown did offer a glimmer of hope saying that Embiid has not been ruled out for Friday’s road game against the Houston Rockets.