76ers-Magic Preview

By MATT BECKER
Posted Feb 14 2012 2:07PM

Although Dwight Howard is pursuing a trade from Orlando, the star center has expressed that he wants the ball more late in games.

The Philadelphia 76ers take a different approach, using a team-first mentality while relying on a balanced attack, and that system seems to be working well for the Atlantic Division leaders.

Howard's Magic look to avenge last month's loss to the 76ers when they meet Wednesday night at the Amway Center.

Howard drew headlines following Saturday's 99-94 win in Milwaukee, telling Fox Sports Wisconsin that he wants to be the closer for Orlando (18-11) and that coach Stan Van Gundy needs to have confidence in him to finish off opponents.

It seemed like a somewhat odd request considering Howard is hoping to be traded. Not helping his case is his 49.4 percent mark from the free-throw line, which would be 19th-worst all-time for a full season.

Still, Howard defended his stance following Monday's 102-89 win over Minnesota despite being limited to 11 points and seven rebounds in 28 foul-plagued minutes.

"My point is I want to be the guy to carry the team," said the six-time All-Star, who is averaging a team-high 20.2 points and a league-best 15.2 rebounds. "I don't think that's bad. That's something I want to be. I want to be the guy in the fourth quarter who carries the team. Not just score the ball, but make great plays."

In Philadelphia on Jan. 30, Howard led all scorers with 17 points, but missed 11 of 17 field goals and 8 of 13 free throws as the Magic lost 74-69.

Neither team had much luck offensively, with the Sixers (20-9) finishing with season lows in points and field-goal percentage (37.5), while Orlando shot 33.3 percent and had just nine third-quarter points. Opponents typically have some trouble putting up points against Philadelphia, which has one of the league's top scoring defenses at 86.8 per game.

That defense is complemented by a balanced offense. Philadelphia has six players averaging double figures in points and another two with at least 9.0 per game.

The leading scorer is reserve Louis Williams, who at 15.9 points per game is on pace to become the first NBA player since Dell Curry of the 1993-94 Charlotte Hornets to lead his team in scoring without starting a game. Williams had 23 points - including two key 3-pointers in the final 6:11 - in Monday's 98-89 win at Charlotte, while fellow reserve Thaddeus Young scored 20 and Jrue Holiday added 19.

"We have this saying that you have a starring role on this team, no matter what that role is," said Williams, who is averaging 19.8 points in his last five games. "I've been able to do that and give us a spark. It's been one of my better years. I've been very pleased with the role I've been playing."

Against the Magic two weeks ago, Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with 14 points, while Evan Turner chipped in 12.

The loss in Philadelphia was the fourth in a row for the Magic, but they've won six of eight since with both defeats coming in overtime.

Jason Richardson, who was out against the Sixers with a knee injury, has been instrumental to the turnaround. He is averaging 18.1 points on 48.9 percent shooting in seven games since sitting out two in a row after averaging 7.8 points on 37.3 percent shooting in his previous six.

Magic hit 15 3-pointers and run past 76ers, 103-87

By KYLE HIGHTOWER
Posted Feb 15 2012 10:53PM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) As Orlando prepared to play its 30th game of the season, coach Stan Van Gundy made it clear that the Magic's defense wasn't close to where it needed to be.

Luckily for Van Gundy, the Magic are producing more than enough offense - particularly from the 3-point line - to get by for now.

Ryan Anderson had seven 3-pointers and scored 27 points, Dwight Howard added 17 points and 14 rebounds and the Magic shot their way past the Philadelphia 76ers, 103-87 on Wednesday night.

Orlando earned its third straight victory, made 15 of 25 attempts from 3-point range, had all five starters reach double figures for the second consecutive game and avenged a loss to the Sixers last month that was the capstone of a season-high, four-game losing skid.

"I think we just wanted to move on from that bad stretch," said Anderson, who hit his first four 3-point attempts. "We knew how we could play. We played like this in segments earlier in the season. We want to make this a consistent thing coming out with a ton of effort and energy."

Jason Richardson had 14 points, including four 3s.

Point guard Jameer Nelson, who tied a career-high 14 assists to go along with 12 points said he is most impressed with how Anderson is finding his own opportunities offensively.

"People don't understand that this guy is averaging 16 or 17 points without having a playing called for him all season," he said. "(Anderson's) just growing. He's developed a lot of confidence. We've always had confidence in him as a group. We always knew he was a great player and probably one of the greatest shooters in the league."

The Magic have hit 68 3-pointers in their last five games. They are 4-1 over that span and have won seven of nine since their Jan. 30 loss in Philadelphia.

It is a hot streak that even Van Gundy has no choice but to marvel at. Though he said his team's unselfishness on the offensive end has been the most welcomed occurrence from his perspective.

As a team, Orlando shot 53 percent from the field (40 for 75) and had 30 points in the paint.

"Those have always been our better offensive games when we have a lot of people involved and shots are fairly balanced," Van Gundy said.

Louis Williams led Philadelphia with 21 points and seven assists, and Andre Iguodala had 15 points. The loss ended the 76ers' winning streak at two.

Sixers coach Doug Collins wasn't surprised at all with how Orlando's shots were falling.

"They've been shooting like that," he said. "Them being solid like that ain't a mystery...We had a horrible start to the game, fought back to get in it, had a horrible finish to the second quarter, to get it to within six and then give them a 10-0 run. And then we're fighting uphill the entire night."

Philadelphia also helped out with 14 turnovers that led to 13 Magic points.

"In the past we have had issues with just banging teams," Williams said. "They are a match up problem for us, but we were able to trump them in the first game because we got our work done early. Tonight, they got off to a good start and we were not able to bounce back."

The Magic's 16-point halftime lead was cut to eight at 88-80 with less than 5 minutes to play in the game.

But Orlando quickly responded with an 8-2 spurt, capped by consecutive 3-pointers by Anderson and Richardson, to make it 97-82.

Two more 3-pointers by the Magic a few possessions later - both following Sixers turnovers - got it to 103-86 with under a minute a play to put the game out of reach.

The Magic's strong shooting night started early as they sizzled offensively in the first half and led 55-39, connecting on 57 percent (22 for 38) of their attempts overall from the field and 53 percent (7 for 13) from beyond the arc.

Anderson led all scorers in the half with 14 points.

Howard was just as active inside, with 13 points and seven rebounds. As a team the Magic outscored the Sixers 20-10 in the paint.

Williams had 11 first-half points to the lead the Sixers. But they turned it over eight times, leading to eight Orlando points on the other end - setting a tone that continued in the final 24 minutes.

Van Gundy has been hard on himself recently after the Magic's losses, but took no credit for how well his team looked against the Sixers.

"When you play well, it's always the players," Van Gundy said. "They decide when they're going to play with energy, when they're going to move the ball. They make that decision."

Notes: Howard had his 23rd double-double of the season. ...F Glen Davis played his second game since the passing of his father on Sunday. Davis, who previously took a sabbatical from the team after his grandmother's death last month, was set to leave again after Wednesday's game to be with family. Van Gundy said there's no specific timetable for his return. ... The Sixers fell to 0-6 this season when their opponent scores at least 100 points.

Notebook: Magic 103, Sixers 87

Posted Wednesday February 15, 2012 11:01PM

By Dick Scanlon, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Ryan Anderson scored 27 points and Jameer Nelson matched his career high with 14 assists, leading the Orlando Magic to a 103-87 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Lou Williams led Philadelphia with 21 points, but the Sixers never led in the game.

The Magic had six scorers in double figures for the second straight game.

QUOTABLE: "When everybody's active and everybody's involved, that's when we play our best."
-- Magic forward Ryan Anderson

THE STAT: The Magic made 15-of-25 3-point shots and are shooting 46 percent from behind the arc in their last five games.

TURNING POINT: The Sixers made a couple of runs, but the game never really turned around after they fell behind, 23-6.

QUOTABLE II: "The start of the game killed us. We were passive offensively and then we missed a lot of easy shots. I thought that played with our psyche a little bit and discouraged us. And then (Ryan) Anderson) hit us with that red-hot start."
-- Sixers coach Doug Collins.

HOT: Anderson hit his first four 3-point shots in the first quarter and made 7-of-10 for the game.

NOT: The Sixers could not make up for missing 14 of their first 21 shots and falling behind by 17 points.

GOOD MOVE: Magic coach Stan Van Gundy took the occasion to remind Anderson (two rebounds) that there is more to the game than scoring.

QUOTABLE III: "He shot the ball great and that's fabulous, and now he needs to get back on the boards."
-- Van Gundy

BAD MOVE: Williams had shot the 76ers back into the game with 11 points when Collins gave him a rest with 2:08 left in the first half. The Magic promptly ran off the last 10 points of the half to lead by 16.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Although he has not started a game and averaged only 26 minutes, Williams is the Sixers' leading scorer at 16.1 points per game.

ROOKIE WATCH: Lavoy Allen started at center for the Sixers, but had two points and no rebounds in 13 minutes.

NOTABLE: The Sixers are 0-6 when giving up 100 points or more, 20-4 when they don't . . . Magic center Dwight Howard, who was shooting 10.8 free throws per game though his first 27 games, has attempted only seven in his last three games . . . The Magic have won 12 of their last 14 against Philly, including a 74-69 loss at Philadelphia on Jan. 30 . . . Anderson had no problem with Van Gundy making an issue of his rebounding. "I always want someone to try to bring the best out of me and I know that's what he was doing. I had two rebounds tonight; I know I can do a lot better than that," Anderson said.

UP NEXT: For the 76ers, Friday vs. Dallas, Sunday @ Minnesota, Tuesday @ Memphis. For the Magic, Friday vs. Milwaukee, Sunday @ Miami, Monday @ Milwaukee.

• 76ers: Brackins
• Magic: Liggins, Orton

• 76ers: --
• Magic: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Amway Center, Orlando, FL
• Officials: #49 Tom Washington, #77 Karl Lane, #60 James Williams
• Attendance: 18846
• Duration: 2:00