Magic 105, 76ers 97
PHILADELPHIA -- Guard Elfrid Payton scored 12 of his season-high 20 points in the final 7:45 as the Orlando Magic held off the Philadelphia 76ers 105-97 on Saturday night.
Payton, scoreless in Friday's victory over Toronto, led seven players in double figures as Orlando (3-5) won its second straight.
Forward Evan Fournier added 17 points for the Magic. Guard Victor Oladipo had 15, while center Dewayne Dedmon finished with 12 and guard Mario Hezonja 11. Forward Aaron Gordon and center Jason Smith contributed 10 apiece.
The Sixers, who trailed by 15 points in the third quarter, closed to 85-83 on a 3-pointer by backup guard Isaiah Canaan with 6:54 left in the game, but Payton grabbed a defensive rebound and went the length of the court for a layup with 6:08 remaining.
Payton added another layup with?3:38?left, two free throws with 2:11 remaining, a jumper with 1:21 left and two more foul shots with 26.8 seconds left, each time after the Sixers cut the gap to four.
Canaan finished with a season-high 23 points and rookie center Jahlil Okafor added 19 for Philadelphia, which fell to 0-6. Guard Nik Stauskas had 18.
Sixers forward Nerlens Noel was assessed a Flagrant Foul-Level 2 and ejected with 1:51 left in the third quarter for swinging his arm at Smith's head, after being elbowed him in the chest.
The Sixers moved to a 13-4 out of the gate behind Okafor, who victimized Dedmon for six early points on a dunk, a left-handed layup and a spin move from the left block.
Orlando's reserves scored 11 points in a 13-0 flurry bridging the first and second quarters to give the Magic a 27-17 lead. The lead grew to 36-26 with 7:41 left in the half but Philadelphia reeled off 12 straight points, including two 3-pointers by Canaan and another by Stauskas.
The Magic scored eight of the half's last 10 points, four of those by Dedmon, to take a 51-44 lead at the break.
Okafor notched 12 points in the half to lead all scorers, while Payton, Hezonja and Gordon, paced Orlando with eight apiece.
The Magic extended their lead to as many as 15 in the third quarter, and held an 81-73 cushion by the end of the period.
NOTES: Sixers G Tony Wroten, who has yet to play this season after undergoing surgery to repair his right ACL in February, said his knee is "feeling great" and that he hopes to return at some point this month. Wroten has only played two-on-two to date. ... Philadelphia PG Kendall Marshall is also sitting out while recovering from surgery on his right ACL, but could not offer a timetable for his return. "I'm feeling good," he said. "I'm getting to where I want to go, but I guess it's just getting over that last hump. I think soon enough I'll be out there." ... Magic C Nikola Vucevic missed his second straight game with a bone bruise of the right knee.