Sixers vs. Magic takeaways: James Harden’s fourth, Tobias Harris’ defense, and overcoming adversity

James Harden came through in the clutch.

Tobias Harris’ defense was the highlight of a night when he also shot 70% from the field. And the 76ers overcame adversity.

These three things stood out during Wednesday’s 105-94 victory over the Orlando Magic at the Wells Fargo Center.

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The Sixers acquired Harden to be their secondary scorer behind Joel Embiid and to close out games.

It’s safe to say that the perennial All-NBA selection has adapted nicely to that role. Embiid led all scorers with 28 points as the Sixers improved to 33-17 Wednesday night. Harden added 26 points, a game-high 10 assists, plus nine rebounds while committing only three turnovers. And it was his play in the fourth quarter that stood out.

While Embiid was held scoreless in the final quarter, Harden drained two huge three-pointers and committed no turnovers in 9 minutes, 43 seconds of action.

Harden’s first three-pointer gave the Sixers an 88-83 lead with 9:12 remaining. That basket ignited a 13-2 run. His second three-pointer put the Sixers up, 101-90, with 4:48 to play.

Harden added a foul shot at the 1:12 mark to score seven points in the quarter.

“He definitely won the game for us,” De’Anthony Melton said. “He might not have had the most points. But I think his timely shots were big for us.

“He’s done this his whole career. So I don’t think this is anything different for him.”

Harris had one of his best shooting performances, scoring 16 points on 7-for-10 shots. However, the Sixers forward was praised for what he did defensively in the second half against Orlando’s standout rookie Paolo Banchero.

Banchero scored 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting with P.J. Tucker as the primary defender in the first half. Then Harris was the primary defender on Banchero after intermission, when the power forward made just 1 of 10 shots.

“That’s like the third game in five or six nights in the second half Tobias has guarded a guard, a big, different positions, and he’s done well for us,” coach Doc Rivers said. “That’s good for our team.”

Tucker only played 4:29 in the second half — all in the third quarter.

This was far from a solid game for the Sixers.

They committed 19 turnovers, leading to 24 Magic points. Orlando (20-32) grabbed 12 offensive rebounds against them. And Sixers guards Tyrese Maxey and Melton and forward Georges Niang had a tough time making shots.

Maxey missed nine of 11 shots. Melton shot 1-for-7 and Niang was 3-for-9. And Harden committed four of his turnovers in the third quarter.

Despite all of that difficulty, the Sixers were able to push through and get the victory.

“These types of days, it might be good for the body [of work],” Melton said. “You might not look at it that way stat-wise, but it’s good for the body and we’re still getting dubs. So I think that’s all that matters. We keep chugging along, keep getting wins.”

Best performance: This goes to Embiid on a night when Harden made 6 of 10 three-pointers and came one rebound shy of his fifth triple-double of the season. As much as I wanted to give this to Harden, his seven turnovers wouldn’t allow me to do it. So Embiid get it for shooting 9-for-17 and making all 10 of his foul shots. He also was a plus-17.

Worst performance: I had to give this to Maxey, who didn’t score his first basket until the fourth quarter. He shot 0-for-4 through three quarters before shooting 2-for-7 in the fourth.

Best defensive performance: I had to give this to Jalen Suggs. The Orlando Magic guard had a career-high five steals. He was very active and was a men

Worst statistic: This goes to Harden’s seven turnovers. This marked the fourth time this season he’s committed seven.

Best statistic: This goes Harden’s three-point shooting (60%).