ORLANDO, Fla. — The Sixers turned a dismal showing into a glimpse of hope Sunday night, but the end result was all too familiar: a 130-116 loss to the Orlando Magic.
The Sixers were down 29 points in the middle of the third quarter, cut the deficit to 119-111 with just under four minutes remaining, but got no closer. A turnover by Ish Smith and a missed defensive rebound took all the air out of the rally and sent the Sixers home with their eighth straight loss.
The Sixers' troubles started early and lasted until the middle of the third period. The Sixers were down 11-0 two minutes into the game … and then things got worse.
Three Magic starters — Victor Oladipo, Nik Vucevic and Aaron Gordon — were in double-figure scoring by the end of the first quarter as Orlando scored a season-high 40 points on 62.5 percent shooting.
The Sixers improved slightly in the second quarter, giving up only 37 points this time, but the 77 points in the first half was another season high for Orlando.
The defensive lapses obscured what was a somewhat successful offensive half for the Sixers, who scored 51 points and shot 51.4 percent from the field, despite hitting only 1 of 10 from three-point land.
NBA
It all added up to a 77-51 halftime deficit that grew to 95-66 in the third period before the Sixers finally put up a fight. Smith fueled a 15-2 run that closed the gap to 102-87 to start the fourth quarter.
Turning point
Tipoff. The Sixers were down 13-1 before they made their first basket, a jump hook by Jahlil Okafor. They were down 14 by the end of the period and 26 by halftime.
Stats for show
Okafor had 26 points, Smith added 17 and seven assists, Isaiah Canaan had 18 points and Robert Covington added 14.
The Sixers shot 53.2 percent from the field, despite hitting only 5 of 22 from long range. However, they didn’t guard anyone, allowing Orlando to hit 57 percent, including 10 of 16 from three-point territory.
Yes, he Canaan
Canaan had a four-point play, the topping on what has been a very productive year against Orlando. Canaan is 23 of 44 from the field against the Magic, including 14 of 28 on three-pointers. For the season, he averaged 17 points against Orlando.
Noel benched
Nerlens Noel took the biggest hit for the Sixers' defensive collapse, sitting the bench for all but two minutes of the second half. Noel had 10 points and three rebounds in the first half, but got off the bench for very little of the final two quarters because of his lackadaisical defensive effort. He posted a minus-23 in 17 minutes of play.
Ex-Sixer stars ... again
Vucevic, a first-round pick by the Sixers in 2011 and traded to Orlando in 2012, had another big night against his former team. Vucevic, who torched the Sixers for 35 points and nine rebounds last Tuesday, had 28 points on 13 of 18 shooting in just 27 minutes Sunday. Jerami Grant slowed Vucevic, clubbing him in the jaw with his elbow while dunking over him in the middle of the third quarter, but the Magic center came back and got eight points in the final period.
What's next?
The Sixers visit the Washington Wizards on Monday (7 p.m.) before coming home for five of their next six games.