In the Amway Center last night it was a hard fought loss for Orlando to the Sixers by 116-106. Cole Anthony returned and had a strong game for the Magic, including sinking a three from the logo.
Unfortunately; Orlando failed to avoid both live ball turnovers and committing unnecessary fouls. Orlando’s foul troubles were not helped by the officials who appeared to again call some soft “contact” on Joel Embiid in particular.
Joel Embiid, the current Eastern Conference Player of the Month heard chants of “MVP” from the sizeable contingent of Sixers fans in the Amway Center. His total 31 points helped push the Sixers to victory. Seth Curry, Tobias Harris and Furkan Korkmaz all scored 20 points or more, as Andre Drummond added a dozen from the bench.
Magic Top Performances
Cole Anthony came back having missed five consecutive games and eight of the last nine played. He provided 26 points, along with 7 assists.
Mo Bamba fired home 19 points. He also added two blocks and two steals to go with 8 rebounds.
Wendell Carter Jr played all night with personal fouls hanging over him. By the time he fouled out in the 4th quarter he had his 19th double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Franz Wagner continued his scoring run now with 21 consecutive games of double digits, ending with 15 points. He has scored double figures in 34 of his 39 NBA games, including attaining 20-points or more on 10 occasions.
Gary Harris did struggle with his shot, totalling 10 points by the close. However that did maintain a run of double-digit score, now at 18 in his last 20 games.
Terrence Ross contributed 18 points from the bench. His was the only significant scoring contribution from the bench unit.
Magic Starting Lineup – Cole Anthony (PG), Gary Harris (SG), Franz Wagner (SF), Wendell Carter Jr (PF), Mo Bamba (C)
Bench Unit – Terrence Ross, Chuma Okeke, RJ Hampton, Tim Frazier, Freddie Gillespie, Admiral Schofield (DNP), Ignas Brazdeikis (DNP), Hassani Gravett (DNP), Mychal Mulder (DNP)
Moving On After A Hard Fought Loss For Orlando To The Sixers
Josh Cohen’s review of this loss to Philadelphia is available here on the Orlando Magic website.
Orlando’s record is now 7 wins and 32 losses. The Magic remain last in the Eastern Conference. The Magic have now lost 7 games consecutively. Of the last 10 games played the Magic have won 2 and looking back further it is 18 losses in 21 games. The home record stands at 2 wins of 16 games played, whilst on the road it is 5 wins in 23 played. In points per game the Magic score 101.9 whilst conceding 111.5, rating 28th on offence and 24th defensively.
The Detroit Pistons
Next up sees the Magic make the second and final trip of the season to Detroit to face the Pistons on Saturday 8th at 7 pm (midnight Sunday here in the U.K.). The first meeting on Game Day 7 (October 30th) was won 103-110 by Detroit.
The Pistons also lost last night on the road. Detroit went down 111-140 to the Charlotte Hornets. Saddiq Bey had 11 points, Cade Cunningham scored 16 points, whilst Trey Lyles led the team with 17 points. From the bench Josh Jackson produced 15 points.
Detroit have a record of 7 wins and 23 losses. The Pistons are 14th in the Eastern Conference. Of the last 10 games played they have won 3, including taking down the Milwaukee Bucks 115-106 on January 3rd. Their road record stands at 4 wins in 17 played. In points per game the Pistons score 101.4, whilst conceding 110.9. Detroit are 29th in the NBA for offensive rating and 22nd defensively.
However before we play Detroit they have a further game. Tonight the Pistons are on the second night of a back-to-back, being on the road at the Memphis Grizzlies. Detroit are without Jerami Grant, Kelly Olynyk and Frank Jackson through injury. Isaiah Stewart and Cory Joseph have cleared COVID protocols and are in the conditioning phase at this point, but should be available to face Orlando.
