On Friday night, The City of Brotherly Love belonged to the Orlando Magic as they cruised past the Philadelphia 76ers, 128-98, to improve to 2-0 in the preseason.
The first quarter featured each team trading blows, with Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey keeping Orlando’s defense honest with a 17-point outburst. However, the Magic clung to a 34-32 lead at the end of 12 minutes as center Wendell Carter Jr. imposed his will in the frontcourt and midrange game; orchestrating a nine-point effort to go along with four rebounds and two assists.
The 76ers pulled Maxey after the first quarter but were able to flip the script in the second, winning 34-32 behind Kelly Oubre Jr.’s 10 points to tie the game at 66 heading into halftime. During the first half, Philadelphia outscored Orlando in second chance points (17-11) and fastbreak points (11-4) while forcing 10 turnovers.
“We need to do a better job of taking care of the ball,” said coach Jamahl Mosley during the postgame press conference. “The energy, the effort was there.”
The Magic finished the game with 20 turnovers.
“Them getting out of transition was a big piece. We did a better job in the second half. I think we just need to turn it on again.”
The third quarter was another hard-fought battle, as the Magic outscored the 76ers, 28-24. Then, in the fourth, Orlando blew the game open, outpacing Philadelphia 34-8 to seal the deal.
“Early on, I thought we were just exchanging baskets,” Mosley added. “We were pushing the pace, getting it out early, pushing the basketball up the floor. I think once we decided to really sit down and lock in, we showed what we're capable of.”
“That 24-point third quarter was big for us. I think that's when the starters stepped up, and then that second unit that came in, they did a heck of a job holding those guys to eight points.”
Carter Jr. led the team with a 20-point, 13-rebound double-double, and the bench unit scored 76 points with three players logging double figures.
“He's just a force for us on the offensive end; on the defensive end,” said guard Anthony Black (12PTS, 2-4 3PM) about Carter Jr. “When he's playing aggressive, he's shooting his shots when he's open. It's just what, 18 and 10, 20 and 10? That's huge for our team. And we're going to win a lot of games if we can build this every time.”
While second year forward Tristan da Silva knows it is only a preseason game, he is impressed with the team’s capabilities.
“I feel like we did a great job in the third quarter, coming out and kind of playing our defense. Playing the way we want to play,” said da Silva, who finished with 12 points. “And obviously, it's still preseason. You're still trying to figure out stuff, figure out different lineups.”
“And it's a little bit more experimental, I guess, in a sense. But still, we try to push the pace. We try to play our game. Try to put a mark on the game.”
The Magic will host the Miami Heat for their preseason home opener on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.