Magic sneak past 76ers in final seconds
PHILADELPHIA -- Serge Ibaka dropped in two free throws with 1.4 seconds left as the Orlando Magic beat the Philadelphia 76ers 103-101 Tuesday night to earn their first victory of the season.
Ex-Sixer Nikola Vucevic finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds for Orlando (1-3). Ibaka had 21 points, and Elfrid Payton contributed 18 points and 10 assists.
Evan Fournier added 17 points for the Magic, who trailed by 18 in the first half and were down 99-95 with 3:56 left.
Hollis Thompson led Philadelphia (0-3) with 22 points, and Dario Saric added 21. Joel Embiid contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Gerald Henderson chipped in 18 points.
With the score tied 101-101, Fournier inbounded to Vucevic, whose pass was deflected by Philadelphia forward Robert Covington. Ibaka collected the loose ball and was flagrantly fouled by Sixers guard T.J. McConnell.
The teams were tied at 82-82 in the final minute of the third quarter, but Philadelphia built a 94-84 lead with 8:29 left in the game on a 3-pointer by Sergio Rodriguez.
Orlando closed the gap to 94-93 on a basket by Serge Ibaka with 5:13 left, but the Sixers continued to fend off the Magic off, in large part because of Embiid. He dropped in a layup with 4:53 left, then added a free throw with 4:19 to pay.
Saric's jumper with 3:56 left gave Philadelphia a 99-95 edge, but the Magic scored six of the next eight points, drawing even on Fournier's layup with 27.7 seconds remaining.
The Sixers turned the ball over on their last possession, setting up the final sequence.
Philadelphia controlled most of the first half, scoring the game's first 10 points and grabbing a 57-43 halftime lead behind 13 points apiece from Thompson and Henderson and 12 from Saric. Embiid also had 10 points and six rebounds in the first 24 minutes.
Vucevic paced Orlando with 14 points in the half.
The Magic rallied to tie it at 82-82 on a 3-pointer by Fournier with 51.4 seconds left in the third quarter, but Philadelphia rattled off nine of the game's next 11 points to go ahead 91-84 early in the fourth quarter. Thompson had four of those points, and Embiid three.
NOTES: Philadelphia traded F Jerami Grant to Oklahoma City for F Ersan Ilyasova and a conditional first-round draft pick. The 76ers hope that Ilyasova, a proven outside shooter, can space the floor for their young big men. At the same time, Grant will be missed. "Jerami was like the favorite guy in the locker room," G T.J. McConnell said. "Everyone loved him." Ilyasova could join the Sixers as soon as Wednesday in Charlotte, according to GM Bryan Colangelo. ... Orlando coach Frank Vogel said Philadelphia assistant Jim O'Brien was his biggest mentor, in that he helped him get a job as a student manager under then-Kentucky coach Rick Pitino in 1994. O'Brien maintained his ties to Pitino when he became the Boston Celtics' head coach, paving the way for Vogel's own ascension in the coaching ranks.