76ers 98 - 103 Magic
Final
  for this game

Vucevic guides Magic past Sixers

Feb 23, 2015 - 4:36 AM Orlando, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Nikola Vucevic burned his former team yet again, posting 31 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic to a 103-98 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Elfrid Payton filled the stat sheet with 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and Victor Oladipo netted 17 points for the Magic, winners for a season-high third straight game.

"I'm glad we came out with a good effort and put ourselves in a position to win," said Payton.

Willie Green, another former Sixer, added 16 off the bench for Orlando, which improved to 4-2 under interim coach James Borrego.

JaKarr Sampson and Robert Covington led Philly with 16 points apiece, while newly-acquired Isaiah Canaan dropped 14 points in his debut. Canaan was acquired last week in a deal that sent promising rookie K.J. McDaniels to the Houston Rockets.

"He's a big personality, he's physical," Sixers coach Brett Brown said of Canaan. "To come in and be the point guard in an NBA game at the end of February is hard to do. ... I thought that he did a good job."

Orlando led 33-23 early in the second quarter when Jerami Grant helped Philadelphia embark on a quick 10-0 run to tie it. Grant converted a four- point play during the flurry, then knotted the score with 1-of-2 from the foul line.

Philly led by as many as five later in the second, but an 8-0 run sent Orlando into halftime with a 55-47 lead.

Aside from a 23-second stretch early in the third, when Canaan hit from deep to put the Sixers up by a point, Orlando played from ahead. But Sampson scored 11 points in the final 3:38 to make things interesting.

His layup at 1:37 made it 96-95, but the Magic scored the next five points to distance themselves. Canaan hit a deep 3 at the other end, but Oladipo sealed it with a pair of free throws.

Game Notes

The Sixers have lost nine straight road games ... Magic forward Tobias Harris (knee) returned from a three-game absence but was limited to four points in 25 minutes ... Prior to the game, the 76ers waived forward Malcolm Thomas and claimed guard Ish Smith off waivers from New Orleans.






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