Magic vs Sixers: What Went Right/Wrong

The Magic jumped out to a 12-4 lead Friday night and never looked back as they crushed the Philadelphia 76ers, 113-95 in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicated.

What went right:

1. Three point shooting- Orlando was on fire from behind the arc as they connected on 14 of 23 shots from long distance for 60.9%. Maurice Evans led the way as he hit 4 of 7 three point attempts, and Keith Bogans added three more from behind the arc.

2. Orlando’s defense- The Magic contested nearly every Philly attempt early on and held the Sixers to just 44.2% from the field despite playing nearly the entire fourth quarter with the end of the bench. The Magic forced 13 Sixers turnovers which led to 18 points.

3. Free throw shooting- Orlando hit 17 of their 18 attempts from the charity stripe for 94.4%. Dwight Howard was especially impressive as the normally 60% foul shooter hit all three of his attempts.

4. Great ball movement- Orlando moved the ball well all night long which led to many open shots that they were knocking down. The Magic racked up 26 assists, and hit on 53.2% from the field (41-77).

5. Glass work- The Magic did a great job on the boards as they outrebounded Philadelphia 44-38. Dwight Howard led the way with 12 boards.

6. Bench production- The Magic bench received some extra minutes and contributed with 42 points on the evening, one of their highest totals of the season. Keyon Dooling led all Magic reserves with 13 points on 6-8 shooting.

7. Great early energy- Orlando came out ready to play and jumped on what was a very hot 76ers team. The game was over in the first quarter thanks to Orlando’s sharp shooting and defensive intensity. The Sixers had a look of defeat on their collective faces, and it was over and ugly early on.

Magic MVP- Hedo Turkoglu- Turk finished with 16 points and 9 assists. Any of the starters could’ve been named MVP on this night.

What went wrong- Despite some carelessness with the basketball which made for 21 Orlando turnovers, there was nothing that went awry on this night for the Magic. They cruised to a blowout victory and were able to get the starters some much needed rest in the process.