Postgame Report

July 8, 2009: Sixers/Nets 86 Magic 108

Box Score

Sixers/Nets fall to Magic

After a tough outing on Tuesday, the Sixers/Nets shot the ball well in their third game of the Orlando Summer Pro League, but still couldn’t keep pace with their opponent, the host Magic, in a 108-86 loss.

Orlando jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead and would never trail at any point in the game. Philadelphia/New Jersey actually outshot Orlando 62% to 52% in the quarter, but the Magic still led 29-23 after one. The Nets first round pick Terrence Williams was the focal point of the offense early on, scoring 10 points in the quarter.

The Sixers/Nets trimmed the deficit to three early in the second quarter before the Magic answered back with an 8-0 run and pulled away by 14 at the half. Orlando committed just 3 turnovers in the first-half, compared to 9 for Philly/Jersey.

Despite trailing by 20-plus points almost the entire second-half, the Sixers/Nets continued to compete hard. The Sixers trio of Jrue Holiday, Marreese Speights and Dionte Christmas started get into rhythm in the third quarter and carried that momentum into a productive fourth quarter.

Christmas scored a team-high 18 points in just 16 minutes of play off the bench, shooting 5-of-9 from the floor and 4-of-6 from downtown.

Holiday rallied from a slow first half to finish with 12 points, 4 rebounds, a team-high tying 4 assists and a steal in just 24 minutes of play. He shot 3-of-6 from the floor and hit both of his 3-point attempts. Holiday was also a perfect 4-of-4 from the line.

Speights had 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and a game-high 3 blocks. He also recorded a team-high 5 free throw attempts, making 4.

Both teams shot 50% from the floor for the game and combined for an astounding 24 three-pointers on 55% shooting. However, Orlando dominated the boards 36-23 overall, including 12-4 on the offensive end.

The Sixers/Nets will play their next to last game tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The game will feature a great point guard matchup between a pair of former UCLA Bruins... the Sixers Holiday and the Thunder’s sophomore sensation, Russell Westbrook.

*****

Here’s a look at some stats for the Sixers three games into the Orlando Pro Summer League:

Marreese Speights is second on the team in scoring (16.0 ppg), second in rebounding (7.0 rpg) and first in blocks (3.3 bpg). He is also shooting an impressive 12-of-13 from the foul line.

Jrue Holiday is third on the team in scoring (9.3 ppg), first in assists (3.0 apg), third in rebounding (4.0 rpg) and tied for first in steals (1.7 spg). He is also shooting 3-of-7 (43%) from 3-point range and 9-of-10 from the foul line.

Dionte Christmas is fourth on the team in scoring (9.0 ppg) despite coming off of the bench. He is also averaging 2.3 rebounds and is shooting 45% from the floor, 46% from 3-point range (with a team-high 5 3FGM) and a perfect 4-of-4 from the line.