The Philadelphia 76ers (6-15) were again without Joel Embiid(left knee injury management) Friday night against the Orlando Magic. They did get back Paul George and Andre Drummond, but KJ Martin stole the show.
Martin had his 76er-high 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting, and George added a team-high 21 as the 76ers defeated the Magic (16-9) 102-94 at Wells Fargo Center.
The 23-year-old Martin, who is getting more of an opportunity with the 76ers’ injuries, has scored in double figures in three out of the last four games.
76ers coach Nick Nurse believes Martin is always in the right place at the right time.
“Yeah, [he was] awesome,” Nurse said. “I think again he gets a really long run because he was just in the right place at the right time, enables us to switch because he can guard big and, on the perimeter, but again, really good job of finding openings on the cuts and going up for some difficult passes at the rim and finding a way to get them in the bucket.”
Martin said he’s trying to do whatever he can to help the team win.
“Each night, I try to go out and play as hard as I possibly can, play at a high level, and have my teammates’ backs,” Martin said. “I feel like that’s why I’ve been successful, try to get my teammates open, major voice on the defensive end, and just living with those results.”
Kelly Oubre Jr., who added 13 points and 10 rebounds, says Martin played almost a perfect game.
“It was everything that we need out of him,” Oubre said. “The perfect, almost perfect, he was nine for ten; he missed one shot because he wanted to lay the ball up when he’s been dunking on everybody all night. It was almost a perfect game for him but at the end of the day what he means to this team, what everybody means to this team is coming in and filling that void and being that energy spark whether it’s starting or off the bench. I’m just super proud of him for staying a professional, continuing to work on his game, and just staying ready.”
Tyrese Maxey, who had 16 points, added on Martin: “[KJ Martin] has been playing really well. He is playing hard. He goes out there and competes every night. He guards one through five, literally. Rebounds. I have been on him about just shooting the ball, whether it’s in the paint, whether it’s threes, and when he shoots the ball, he plays like that, so he played great.”
Martin brings athleticism and energy on both ends of the court and is a good finisher. He has shown that he deserves to continue getting minutes when the team is completely healthy.
Philly gets back at it on Sunday when travel to Chicago to face the Bulls.
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