Orlando Magic Grades: Orlando Magic 130, Philadelphia 76ers 114
The Orlando Magic raced out a 29-point lead and had things going on offense. A comeback brought the team down to earth and put the team in some focus.
93. Final. 130. 38. 116
The Orlando Magic were rolling in a way they have not rolled in a very long time. Building a 29-point lead against any NBA team, including the league-worst Philadelphia 76ers, takes a lot of skill and execution.
When it goes up in smoke, that is the part that gets the most frustrating. That has been the Magic’s story for much of the season. The team has had trouble holding leads.
And there were precarious moments as the Magic’s 29-point lead got cut to eight in the fourth quarter and Nikola Vucevic fouled out with three minutes to go. A late Elfrid Payton run saved the lead and the game, making a romp an uneasy’ish win.
Orlando’s defense was a problem throughout the night hidden by first-half turnovers and hot shooting. When that dissipated, even the 76ers could make their comeback.
Wins are wins though and the Magic played well enough early on in the game to pull away and secure a 26th win this season.
NIKOLA VUCEVIC. B+. <p>Nikola Vucevic really enjoys seeing the Philadelphia 76ers. He had a career nigh earlier this week in scoring 30-plus points against <strong><a href=. C. Orlando Magic
SF. Orlando Magic. MARIO HEZONJA. B. <p><strong><a href=
ELFRID PAYTON. B+. <p>Elfrid Payton is starting to find his offensive and playmaking groove again and is putting up solid numbers. And, of course, he produced when the Magic needed it most. He had seven points in the final three minutes of the game to seal things off.</p><p>Payton scored 11 points and 10 assists for the game. When the Magic offense was rolling, Payton was getting into the lane and creating well for others. This is Payton at his best. And he started the game off well defensively.</p><p>Things were not as bad defensively as he has been in the past. He did a good job keeping his man in front of him. <strong><a href=. PG. Orlando Magic
PG. Orlando Magic. BRANDON JENNINGS. C. <p><strong><a href=
C. <p>The Philadelphia 76ers are not a good team. This team is what its record says it is. And they played poorly in the first half. Embarrassingly so and coach Brett Brown called them out for it. Philadelphia turned things around in the second half, but were bad throughout.</p><p>The 76ers turned the ball a lot — 18 points for 31 Magic turnovers — but still shot extremely well with 53.2 percent shooting and 29 for 37 from the foul line. Philadelphia was hanging around but not enough.</p><p>Not until the team finally turned things up defensively with a nice adjustment to press and slow the Magic offense down. Philadelphia had plenty of players score as <strong><a href=. 8-51. 15th East. PHILADELPHIA 76ERS