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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| MAGIC | 26 | 29 | 16 | 25 | 96 |
| SIXERS | 19 | 26 | 27 | 22 | 94 |
Recap:
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Rashard Lewis scored 19 points and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds left to lead the Orlando Magic to a 96-94 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
Lewis inbounded to Hedo Turkoglu, who took several dribbles down the lane before passing to Lewis on the left wing. Lewis drained the shot and the 76ers, without any timeouts left, could manage only Andre Miller's 40-footer at the buzzer that came up short.
Dwight Howard had 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Magic (11-4), who shot just 12-for-35 in the second half and nearly surrendered a 12-point, first-half lead. Tony Battie had a season-high 20 points and Turkoglu added 10 for Orlando, which won for the seventh time in eight games.
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Preview:
After a Monday night victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, the Magic hit the road for a two-game trip that kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night in Philadelphia against the 76ers (7-7).
The Magic-Sixers match-up has been chosen as one of the premiere contests in the NBA this season. Orlando defeated the Philadelphia on November 8 by a score of 98-88 in a game that was nationally televised on TNT. Wednesday night’s contest will also be nationally televised, this time on ESPN. After a slow start to the season, Philadelphia has found their groove and is now hovering around the .500 mark.
Elton Brand is leading the team in both scoring (16.6 ppg.) and rebounding (10.4 rpg.) and is also blocking 1.71 shots per game. He is one of four Philadelphia players averaging double-figures, followed by Thaddeus Young (15.2 ppg.), Andre Miller (14.4 ppg.) and Andre Igoudala (13.4 ppg.). Igoudala, who has struggled mightily early in the season, seems to be finding his rhythm and has increased his shooting percentage to 39.8 percent on the year. In Orlando’s first contest against the Sixers, Igoudala shot only 4-of-12 from the field but managed to notch a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Elton Brand couldn’t say the same, as the feisty Magic double-teams frustrated him all night and limited him to only six points on eight field goal attempts.
Keep your eyes open to see if the Orlando defense can limit Brand’s shot attempts again this time, but don’t expect him to be held to less than 10 points again.
The Magic will be playing without Jameer Nelson, who is out seven-to-10 days with a strained right hip flexer. Anthony Johnson will start in his place and run the Orlando offense. This will be the second consecutive game that Orlando faces a terrific rebounding team. Philadelphia is second in the league with a 47.28 rebound average per game.
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Keys to the game:
Anthony Johnson: Many Magic faithful have pinned Orlando's early season success on the play of Jameer Nelson. He has been extremely aggressive at the offensive end and has seemingly put the opposing point guard on his heels whenever he is on the court. Johnson will be filling those shoes Wednesday night against an All-Star caliber point guard who is a seasoned veteran. Andre Miller is one of the top floor generals in the game and is dangerous on both offense and defense. For the Magic to perform well Wednesday night, Johnson will need to make great decisions with the ball and not let Miller drive to the lane at will.
Rebounding: Orlando took on one of the top rebounding teams in the NBA Monday night in the Milwaukee Bucks and managed to finish the game even in that department, with each team pulling down 40. The Sixers are another dangerous team on the boards and enter Wednesday ranked second in the NBA in that department with 47.3 per game. The Sixers have great size and athleticism in the middle and if the Magic look to hang even with them on the boards, Dwight Howard is going to have to dominate the paint and stay out of foul trouble. The rebounding margin will surely be one category each coach stresses to their players prior to tip-off.
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Game Notes:
Nov. 26 @ Philadelphia: Orlando is 50-26 all-time vs. Philadelphia (29-9 at home, 21-17 on the road) during the regular season, including 1-0 this season (see recap below)…The Magic went 3-1 last season against Philadelphia…The Magic are 1-3 in postseason play against the Sixers (1999 First Round)...Orlando has won nine of the last 12 and 21 of the last 31 meetings overall...The Magic have won eight of the last 10 meetings at home and five of the last eight on the road…Jameer Nelson played 125 career games at Saint Joseph’s from 2000-04 and attended Chester High School…Pat Williams, who spent 12 seasons as Sixers GM, serves as Senior VP for the Magic...TV analyst Matt Guokas was born and raised in Philadelphia - He attended Saint Joseph’s, was the Sixers’ first round pick in 1966, played four seasons with Philadelphia, served as an assistant coach for three-plus seasons during the early-mid 1980s and was head coach from 1985-88…For last season’s stats and Magic career numbers vs. Philadelphia, see p. 265 of the media guide…Nov. 6 vs. Philadelphia - Magic 98, Sixers 88: Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu both recorded 20 points and eight rebounds, as Orlando defeated Philadelphia, 98-88, at Amway Arena. It was the third consecutive win for the Magic. Jameer Nelson had 16 points and nine assists, while Dwight Howard, who was plagued by foul trouble, had 14 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Thaddeus Young led the Sixers with 19 points. Orlando led for most of the game, jumping out to a 30-16 advantage after the first quarter and by as many as 23 during the second half. Philadelphia trimmed the deficit to 80-74 with 8:38 left on a layup by Louis Williams, but it would be as close as the Sixers would get. The Magic held Elton Brand to just six points and the Sixers overall to 37.9 percent shooting from the floor.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. SIXERS: 44 pts., Tracy McGrady (@ Philadelphia, 3-28-01)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 60 pts., Allen Iverson (@ Philadelphia, 2-12-05)
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