Looking to rebound after an extremely underwhelming week in which they posted three subpar performances on their home floor, the Sixers faltered again, this time in Orlando, 104-99 Sunday night.

After missing all three of those games due to a left foot strain he originally suffered on Christmas Day, Joel Embiid appeared on the verge of returning to the floor in Orlando after initially being listed as questionable. Instead, Embiid was ruled out for the fourth consecutive game. Caleb Martin, a late addition to the injury report due to right groin soreness, was also ruled out by the Sixers shortly before tip-off.

Already without key reserves Kyle Lowry, KJ Martin and Andre Drummond — weakening a bench which is even vulnerable when all of those players are healthy — the Sixers continue to be devastated by injuries. Without many options available, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse opted to start Tyrese Maxey, Eric Gordon, Kelly Oubre Jr., Paul George and Guerschon Yabusele, a smaller unit which could boast some defensive versatility on the perimeter to go with strong theoretical floor spacing, but would face a significant size disadvantage, even against an Orlando team without Franz Wagner, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jalen Suggs.

Even with the Magic not playing particularly well in the first half — and Tyrese Maxey finding an early groove and getting to the free throw line at will — the Sixers did not do enough to play from in front. Maxey's 22 points in the first half inched them within a point of Orlando at intermission, giving them a fighter's chance in the second half. Then George finally found himself, leading a Sixers push which put them in front entering the final frame as he scored 11 points in the third quarter, setting up a close finish.

The Sixers and Magic — two teams with extreme challenges when it comes to stringing together consistent offensive for 48 minutes — traded misses on many occasions in the fourth quarter. In the first six minutes of action during the final frame, the teams combined for just 13 points. Each team missed a few good looks, but largely failed to generate quality shots.

It began to feel as if one team would eventually experience a quick burst on offense and, in turn, put their opponent away to secure a victory. That team turned out to be the Magic.

Against an Orlando team which has been ravaged by injuries all season but powered through that adversity en route to a 22-18 record through its first 40 games thanks to their depth and coaching, the Sixers once again showed many sings of a team not equipped to handle any sort of adversity. That is why they are now 15-22.

Here is what stood out from the Sixers' defeat in Orlando on a night when most were focused on the Eagles and Packers:

Sixers defense picks up where it left off before Orlando goes cold

Generally, a team or player "picking up where it left off" is an indication of continued success or progress. In this case, it is the opposite.

The Sixers allowed 70 points in the second half to a New Orleans Pelicans team which was severely undermanned in a horrid loss on Friday night, experiencing breakdown after breakdown leading to countless open layups or three-point shots. It was the sort of effort that should embarrass any NBA team, particularly one which has been open about its need to start stacking some wins together as quickly as they possibly can.

Instead of banding together and displaying any sort of early cohesion or focus to set the tone for the game, the Sixers looked exactly as inept and disorganized early on in this game as they did for those disastrous final 24 minutes against New Orleans on Friday.

Within four minutes and change, Nurse had to call a timeout with his team trailing 16-8. Cole Anthony, who spent the beginning of the season out of Orlando's rotation entirely, torched the Sixers with 11 early points on nearly a perfect shooting line.

Luckily for the Sixers, the Magic began to stumble on the offensive end of the floor after their opening surge. The Sixers' connectivity as a defense improved a bit as well, and they held Orlando in check for the remainder of the opening frame.

Maxey has a nice start despite an injury scare, but his teammates lag behind

Maxey played the entirety of the first quarter and scored 10 points, with five of them coming on free throws. There was a brief scare mixed in, as Maxey was holding his hand in what appeared to be significant pain as Nurse called for that first timeout. He did remain in the game, though, and while he did appear to flex that hand on a few occasions, it did not prevent him from leading the Sixers' offensive attack as George shot 2-for-5 from the field and none of Maxey's teammates could connect on a single three-point try.

The strong push from Maxey briefly put the Sixers ahead by a point, but then the entire team went ice cold. Rookie center Adem Bona played the majority of the first quarter, and so far is essentially a non-threat to score despite doing some other things well. Ricky Council IV took one of the more ill-advised three-point attempts you will see, even for someone who loves to try shots from multiple steps beyond the arc.

George's offensive process continues to be absolutely mystifying. Weeks ago, his volume of long twos and diminished rim frequency were an extremely alarming combination. At least anecdotally, each issue has gotten far worse in recent games. Time and time again, George settles for long jumpers as he drifts away from the basket. None of his shots feel anything other than tremendously difficult if he is not spotting up as a wide open shooter.

What is particularly concerning is that George looks completely incapable of exploiting mismatches of any kind. Part of the beauty of George's game for years — one of the main reasons he is a nine-time All-Star — is that there are so few defenders with the requisite size, length, strength and speed to handle him one-on-one. On multiple occasions early in this game and several times in other recent contests, George has failed to capitalize when being defended on an island by a guard he could bully to the rim or a big who he can force off-balance and beat to a spot. George just continues to force bad shots.

Improved defensive execution, Maxey's relentless scoring keep Sixers afloat

The Sixers' offense was only slightly better in the second quarter than it was during the game's opening 12 minutes — and the bar was not exactly high — but while Anthony continued to flourish, the Sixers were able to shut down or significantly limit just about every other Magic player, from Banchero down to old friend Trevelin Queen.

It is difficult to give the Sixers too much credit for having a terrific defensive quarter when playing against a team which does not boast a strong offense and was also missing several key pieces. But the same could have been said for the Pelicans on Friday night, and they had their way with the Sixers for much of that game.

Meanwhile, Maxey willed the Sixers to a decent quarter offensively. In six minutes and 48 seconds, he notched another dozen points and an additional five free throws.

Maxey's final line in the first half: 22 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the field, 2-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc and 10-for-10 shooting from the free throw line, plus three rebounds, two assists and two steals in a hair under 19 minutes. It was enough to bring the Sixers within one point, trailing Orlando 49-48 at intermission.

Turnovers plague Sixers early in second half

At halftime of this game, the Sixers had eight assists to seven turnovers — not an ideal ratio, surely, but not exactly a disqualifying one either. They had to improve their ball movement and ensure they kept the ball safe in the second half. Surely, this was a point of emphasis as the team exited its locker room. 

Then, the second half started, and the Sixers turned the ball over on each of their first five possessions — including one after Nurse called a timeout following the first four miscues. 

Luckily for the Sixers, only two of those five turnovers led to Magic baskets as Orlando's offense continued to struggle. So while the Sixers did not actually lose any ground during this stretch, they did blow a significant chance to pull ahead.

Yabusele finds another way to impact the game

Nurse spoke recently about wanting to use Yabusele as a post-up scorer more often moving forward, and with so many players unavailable and the team's offense sputtering aside from Maxey, there was no time like the present to give it a shot.

Yabusele scored a couple of buckets backing down a defender early in the second half, utilizing his overwhelming strength and impressive touch around the rim to bully his way into close-range shot opportunities:

Whether or not the Sixers can consistently incorporate Yabusele post-up touches into their offense when Embiid is available remains to be seen, but when their franchise centerpiece is unavailable, the Sixers should absolutely continue to see if Yabusele has what it takes to score efficiently down there on higher volume. 

George leads the Sixers into pole position

Finally, George found himself during the third quarter, playing all 12 minutes and leading the Sixers offense with 11 timely points. George was also effective on the glass and as a playmaker. It was a terrific and much-needed effort from a player who has far too often come up short in similar situations. George was terrific during these dozen minutes of action.

George's struggles are sometimes even more mystifying because every so often, he shows he can take over a game like he did during this third quarter. He was outstanding in that stretch, though, helping the Sixers win the quarter, 29-24, and enter the final frame with a 77-73 lead.

Magic pull away with win after George fouls out again

George hit a crucial triple upon returning to the game to extend the Sixers' lead to four points. Given the level of offense being played for much of this game, such a deficit felt significant.

Gordon also knocked down a critical three-point try — his third on as many attempts — as his relatively modest offensive lift was meaningful in a game during which points were hard to come by.

After Orlando tied the game with three minutes remaining, George cashed another clutch triple to put the Sixers ahead again. It lifted him to 25 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the night. And on the very next play, he committed his third foul of the quarter and sixth foul of the game, ending his night. Issues with fouling have plagued George for a few weeks to a stunning degree, but the Sixers had no time to worry. Nurse inserted rookie two-way wing Justin Edwards, looking for stability on the wing in George's place.

Instead, the players who stepped up were Jonathan Isaac — whose length bothered the Sixers on the glass all night — and Banchero, who sunk a trio of free throws after aggressive drives to the basket, putting Orlando in front, before knocking down a critical mid-range jumper later on.

George's absence meant the all of the responsibility fell on the fatigued shoulders of Maxey, and Maxey just could not muster enough offense after his stellar first half. Maxey hit one late triple, but largely struggled down the stretch.

That was all she wrote for the Sixers, who found themselves on the wrong end of yet another close game.

Up next: The Sixers have just started a gauntlet run of sorts, and perhaps their most difficult sequence of games over the next month is up next: in the most brutal back-to-back of their season, the Sixers will host the juggernaut Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday before the New York Knicks come to town on Wednesday.

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