Magic at Sixers: What Went Right

The Magic began their busy week of five games in eight nights by escaping Philadelphia with a 108-106 victory over the fourth place 76ers. Although there are no style points in the NBA, this game was far from a thing of beauty for the visitors from Orlando. The road team prevailed nonetheless, and no team has more road victories in the NBA (18).

1. Orlando had Hedo Turkoglu and Philadelphia didn’t- That was really the difference in the game. Turkoglu continued his fantastic play of late by scoring 23 points, grabbing 7 rebounds, and dishing off for 6 assists. Turkoglu added to his late game heroics by breaking a 106-106 tie with two free throws with 2.4 seconds left to win it.

2. Rebounding- Philadelphia entered the game as the second-best offensive rebounding team in the NBA, and Orlando allowed them just 9 offensive boards, and 33 total rebounds. The Magic finished with 42 rebounds overall, and their ability to limit the 76ers to one shot was vital to the road victory.

3. Offense- The Magic blistered the nets in Philadelphia to the tune of 54.1% shooting (40/74) against a 76ers team that is in the top 10 in points allowed. The 108 points scored by Orlando was better than 12 points over what Philadelphia normally allows.

4. Good defense down the stretch- Defensively, this game would be the before picture in anyone’s “Better Basketball Video” (our apologies to J.J.). Call it bad offense or a lack of a go-to-guy, but the Magic held Philly scoreless over the final 1:36 of the game to narrowly avoid defeat.

5. Good starting frontcourt play- The three-headed monster of Turkoglu, Lewis, and Howard came up big yet again for the Magic as they combined for 58 points, 28 rebounds, 12 assists, and 3 steals. The starting frontcourt of Thadeus Young, Andre Iguodala, and Samuel Dalembert battled foul trouble all night and finished with just 36 points, 17 rebounds, and 9 assists.