PHILADELPHIA, PA – OCTOBER 20: JJ Redick #17 of the Philadelphia 76ers celebrates his game winning shot with teammate Joel Embiid #21 against the Orlando Magic at Wells Fargo Center on October 20, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 76ers won 116-115. Drew Hallowell/Getty Images/AFP
PHILADELPHIA — JJ Redick hit a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left to lift the Philadelphia 76ers over the Orlando Magic 116-115 on Saturday night.
Redick had his best game since moving to Philadelphia’s bench at the start of the season, scoring 31 points on 10-of-20 shooting, including eight 3-pointers.
Aaron Gordon had a chance to tie it with 10 seconds remaining but missed his second free throw, and a desperation heave by Terrance Ross missed the net entirely.
Joel Embiid had 32 points and 10 rebounds for the 76ers, including 19 points by halftime. He did it with an outside game in the first half but was more of a force down low after intermission.
Dario Saric scored 13 points and Robert Covington had 12 as the 76ers improved to 2-1 this season.
Evan Fournier had 31 points to lead Orlando. Nikola Vucevic added 27 points and Gordon had 20.
Ben Simmons left the game after the first quarter with a tight back, meaning Philadelphia had to lean that much more on Embiid and Redick.
With Simmons out, Markelle Fultz was given an opportunity to play extended minutes and run the offense. Fultz finished with eight points on 4-of-11 shooting and added seven assists with only one turnover.
However, with the game on the line, 76ers coach Brett Brown opted to use T.J. McConnell at the point and kept Fultz on the bench.
High scores have been common in the early part of the NBA season as teams are pushing the pace and trying more shots, especially from deep.
Both teams shot lights out from 3-point territory. The Sixers, paced by Redick, shot 17 of 34 (50 percent) while the Magic, led by Fournier’s six 3-pointers, shot 16 of 29 (55.2 percent).
Thirteen players attempted shots from beyond the arc, eight for Orlando and five for Philadelphia.
TIP-INS
Magic: Orlando let a 16-point lead slip away in the first half in short order. They led 26-10 with 5:13 to go in the quarter but fell behind for the first time at 11:25 of the second quarter and didn’t regain the lead until Ross hit his desperation 3-pointer with 1:24 to play in the game. They were outscored by Philadelphia 23-6 in that 5:48 run. … The Magic have now lost four straight against Philadelphia. They had won 13 of the previous 17.
76ers: Simmons left the game after the first quarter. He played eight minutes and scored four points and had four assists. … Embiid broke 30 minutes played for the third straight game to start the season. He only did that twice in the first 10 games last season, and not until Nov. 1.
UP NEXT
Magic: Finish their two-game trip in Boston on Monday night.
76ers: Start a short two-game trip Tuesday night in Detroit.