Magic's early spurt helps make Sixers disappear

ORLANDO - There certainly were signs early that it would not be a good night for the 76ers. Front and center among the many problems was their inability to make shots, as they missed nine of their first 12, while Orlando made nine of its first 12. The Sixers were turning the ball over and allowing wide-open jump shots, and were unable to stop Dwight Howard.

Although coach Doug Collins' frustration was nearing the boiling point, he is too familiar with his team to think there wouldn't be improvement. There was, but not enough, as the Magic avenged an earlier loss to the Sixers with a resounding 103-87 win, showing off an offense that was missing in the teams' last meeting.

It was no coincidence that Jameer Nelson played for Orlando last night after missing the earlier game with a concussion.

The Magic was at its best offensively, certainly a 180-degree turnaround from its performance in Philadelphia on Jan. 30 when it scored only 69 points, 18 coming in the final 2 minutes, 40 seconds. Last night, all five starters scored in double figures and performed a classic inside-out game that produced 15 three-pointers, seven of them from forward Ryan Anderson (game-high 27 points).

The Sixers got down by 17 a little more than 7 minutes into the game, and, for the rest of the night, it was like walking against a stiff wind.

"They shot the ball well, and we just played uphill early on in that game," said reserve guard Lou Williams, who came off the bench to lead the team with 21 points and seven assists. "They got off to a good start. We just weren't able to bounce back. They've got four shooters, four guys, so obviously somebody is going to have to guard on the perimeter that is not used to that. Tonight that was our '4s' [power forwards]. When you're used to banging guys on the inside and then, all of the sudden, you have guys spreading the floor and using screen and rolls, that's different territory for them. I just felt tonight was one of those nights, where they made 15 three-point shots. It's hard to play a team like that, especially in their building."

It was a difficult night for most of the Sixers, none more than starting point guard Jrue Holiday, who struggled through his worst game of the season. Holiday shot 1-for-8 from the floor, scored only three points and had the same number of turnovers as assists, five. More than the numbers, Holiday's body language suggested most of the night that his game was somewhere else besides the floor of the Amway Center. When asked about Holiday's play, Collins just shrugged an "I don't know."

After Orlando's quick start, once the Sixers settled in, they had a chance to make things interesting in the first half. That's when the game's biggest turning point occurred.

His team trailing, 45-39, Elton Brand had an open 15-footer just roll out with 1:32 left in the first half. Less than a minute later, Orlando's lead reached 14 after Jason Richardson drilled a trey. To cap off a 10-0 run, Nelson drained a 16-footer at the buzzer. Had Brand's shot fallen, the difference would have been four points. Instead, the Sixers limped off the court down by 55-39.

"We dug ourselves in a hole, fought back, dug ourselves in a hole, fought back again, but, in the end, they were just too good tonight," said Brand, who finished with 13 points. "Oh, yeah, that run hurt us, and turnovers. We average [a little more than] eight turnovers, and we had eight in the first half. Once we turned it over and missed, they got out into the lanes, got out into transition, and hit those threes, which put us behind."

Nelson, recently coming off a stretch in which he missed five games because of a concussion, had a lot to do with Holiday's miserable night. He was a maestro all evening, dealing a career-high-tying 14 assists, scoring 12 points and hounding Holiday at the defensive end.

"The team looks to me for energy," the Saint Joseph's and Chester High product said. "It's all about me attacking. It's never been about me just shooting or passing. When I'm in attack mode, it's about making the right play when it's there. Tonight and a lot of nights, because of the way we shoot the ball, it's going to be for someone else if I'm drawing the next guy."

When the Sixers held the Magic to 33.3 percent shooting and those paltry 69 points a couple of weeks ago, Nelson wasn't able to play because of the concussion. His presence was certainly a big part of the improved offensive efficiency for Orlando, now 19-11.

"It's not any mystery; their last five games, they've been averaging almost 14 threes a game," Collins said. "Ryan Anderson is just such a tough cover. They roll Dwight Howard down through that paint, and they roll Anderson up behind, and J.J. Redick [12 points in 18 minutes]. We had a horrible start to the game, fought to get back in it, had a horrible finish to the second quarter, when we got it to within six and gave them a 10-0 run, and then we're fighting uphill the rest of the night.

"Their adjusted field goal percent with all those threes was 63 percent. You're not going to beat them with them shooting that kind of percentage."

Andre Iguodala had 15 points, while Thaddeus Young added 12, and Nikola Vucevic had 10. Evan Turner led the Sixers with eight rebounds and also dealt six assists in close to 26 minutes . . . Both teams combined to shoot only 25 free throws . . . The Sixers never led in the game . . . The team will hold an optional practice today before hosting the Dallas Mavericks tomorrow. Then it's back on the road for games at Minnesota, Memphis, Houston and Detroit.

BobCooney76