Joel Embiid had 21 points and nine rebounds in three quarters and the Philadelphia 76ers handed the Orlando Magic their first loss with a 116-92 victory on Thursday night (Friday AEDT).<\/p>\n
Off to a 4-0 start for the first time in franchise history, the Magic never had much of a shot at a fifth win because of the surprising outside shooting of the 76ers, who even got a 3-pointer from Ben Simmons.<\/p>\n
Philadelphia, which entered the game 27th in the NBA in 3-point accuracy, made eight of its first 12 attempts from beyond the arc and built a first-half lead as large as 37 points.<\/p>\n
Seth Curry added 21 points and five 3-pointers, and Tobias Harris chipped in 20 points, nine rebounds and three 3-pointers for Philadelphia (4-1), which had 38 first-quarter points and 75 by halftime.<\/p>\n
"Tonight, we did a good job of moving that ball around and mixing it up with 3-point shots off the double teams and driving the basketball,'' said Curry, who made seven of 12 shots and five of seven 3-point shots.<\/p>\n
The Sixers made a season-high 15 3-pointers.<\/p>\n
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Simmons, who sank just the third 3-pointer of his career in the first quarter, finished with nine points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.<\/p>\n
"We know we have a lot of potential and ways to grow, but to be 4-1 already is good,'' Curry said.<\/p>\n
The Magic (4-1) were the NBA's last undefeated team.<\/p>\n
Nikola Vucevic finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic, while rookie guard Cole Anthony scored 16 points off the bench.<\/p>\n
"We're not putting enough into guarding the ball and helping. We're not,'' Magic coach Steve Clifford said.<\/p>\n
"Things that we've been very good at for two years we're not doing, and that's the hard things.''<\/p>\n
Orlando was without reserve guard Terrence Ross \u2014 its leading scorer at 21 points per game \u2014 because of a right hamstring irritation.<\/p>\n
The Magic also lost starting guard Evan Fournier eight minutes into the game because of back spasms.<\/p>\n
He had three points and two assists and watched the lopsided second half from the bench.<\/p>\n
Already up 38-22 after one quarter, the Sixers made 14 of 22 shots and four of seven 3-pointers in the second period to build their lead to as large as 72-35 late in the opening half.<\/p>\n
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Harris and Curry each hit three 3-pointers in the early going, while Matisse Thybulle sank two shots from beyond the arc in the first half.<\/p>\n
TIP-INS<\/strong><\/p>\n 76ers:<\/strong> Dwight Howard, who starred in Orlando from 2004-12, was booed when he first checked into the game and fans derisively cheered when he picked up his first foul nine seconds later.<\/p>\n Howard drilled Philadelphia's 14th 3-pointer of the game \u2014 and the 10th of his 17-year NBA career \u2014 in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n Howard had seven points and five rebounds in 14 minutes.<\/p>\n Thursday's (Friday AEDT) game was Philadelphia's second of the season with fans in attendance.<\/p>\n Sixers coach Doc Rivers said he was "surprised'' at the number of "mask-less'' citizens walking around downtown Orlando a day earlier.<\/p>\n Asked if he felt safe, Rivers said, "I do in the arena. You go from state to state, but you still have the same NBA protocols and that's really important.''<\/p>\n Magic:<\/strong> James Ennis III, who the Magic acquired last February in a trade with Philadelphia, went through drills on Thursday (Friday AEDT) and Clifford said the forward is close to returning.<\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/em><\/strong> clicking here!<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"