Orlando Magic on Hiatus: The top 10 games of the 2020 season (so far)
8. Confirmation Bias — vs. 76ers (Dec. 27)
98. 38. Final. 97. 93
Our Coverage: Grades; Orlando Magic can build a foundation that can crumble quickly
FOX Sports Florida Re-Air: March 29, 7 p.m.
The Orlando Magic, as noted before, struggled to find quality wins on their schedule. The team would seemingly dominate every team below .500 on their schedule and then hit a wall against the teams that were actually competing for the playoffs. The teams they had to defeat if they wanted any success in the playoffs.
The Philadelphia 76ers were the perfect cure for that. For a long time, they were the only win of significance for the team. And both times they played Philadelphia, it seemed like Orlando had the advantage.
The Magic’s defense was still in top form. They locked down Ben Simmons with Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac. They could contain Joel Embiid on the outside. And the Magic mustered enough offense through Evan Fournier (20 points), Aaron Gordon (19 points, 11 rebounds), Terrence Ross (17 points) and Nikola Vucevic (16 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists).
That was all the team could do at that point: Muster just enough offense to make up for the defense.
Orlando had a sizable lead late even after scoring only 97 points. But they got a reminder, as they have so many times this year, what a star can do to an inattentive defense or even to good defense.
Embiid went on a late run of 3-pointers and the Magic suddenly started missing free throws, allowing the 76ers to get dangerously to the lead in the dying moments. Embiid still had a 3-pointer at the end of the game for the chance to win.
Orlando was suddenly scrambling. But make no mistake, the Magic were the clear dominant team in this game. A second straight win over the 76ers. For whatever reason, Philadelphia caught Orlando’s eye. It would have been interesting to see how the Magic faced off against the 76ers in Philadelphia late in the season.