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"Best" and "Worst" awards: Sixers vs.Magic

    by Keith Pompey, The Philadelphia Inquirer
    Published 

ORLANDO – My look at some of the best and worst performances and happenings from the Orlando Magic's 105-94 victory over the Sixers on Wednesday at Amway Center:

Best performance: Any person in his right mind knows Nik Vucevic is the runaway winner of this award. The Magic center gave his former team the business.  Vucevic shot 10-for-13 to finish with 21 points to go with 16 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots. He also had three turnovers. But hey, no one is perfect. Dominating from the start, he made his first eight shots and tallied 17 points and 10 rebounds in the first half.  Something tells me the Sixers wish they never shipped him to Orlando in part of their disastrous four-team trade.

Worst performance: This has to go to the Sixers' Lorenzo Brown. The reserve point guard struggled from the field, shooting 0 for 4. He finished with zero points. The recently signed rookie out of North Carolina State did have one steal in his eight minutes of action.

Best defensive performance:  Vucevic gets this award. In addition to blocking three shots, the 7-foot, 250-pounder grabbed 15 defensive rebounds

Best performance in a losing effort: Sixers power forward Thaddeus Young deserves this award after recording a game-high 26 points, grabbing eight rebounds and recording a steal. The New Orleans native, who grew up in Memphis, made 9 of 15 field goals in his first game back following the death of his nephew.

Worst statistic: This award goes to Victor Oladipo's turnovers. The Orlando rookie guard had eight giveaways.

Best statistic: This award goes to Orlando's second-quarter shooting.  The Magic made 10 of 17 shots to shoot 58.8 percent in the quarter.

Worst of the worst: The Sixers being unable to field a healthy team. They played without Spencer Hawes (left knee soreness) and Tony Wroten (lower-back strain) for the second consecutive game. And the Seattle natives and University of Washington products were missed. The Sixers will need them back to snap their two-game skid on Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans.

- Keith Pompey

Follow and contact Inquirer 76ers beat writer Keith Pompey on Twitter @PompeyOnSixers