76ers at Magic
The Orlando Magic have lost five of six games since a promising stretch of play and look to find their best form when the struggling Philadelphia 76ers pay a visit on Sunday night. The Magic appeared to moving forward after a 3-3 road trip, but averaged fewer than 90 points over the last six and need to beat the league’s worst team to avoid matching a season-high four-game losing streak. The 76ers have dropped five in a row and are beginning a seven-game road swing that ends out West.
Philadelphia’s only two victories have come away from home against Minnesota and Detroit in the last eight games. The 76ers will have last season’s Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams this time around after losing to Orlando 91-89 at home on Nov. 5 without him when Tobias Harris drained a jumper at the buzzer. Harris leads the Magic in scoring and his last-second leaner beat Atlanta on Dec. 13 for their only win over the last six contests.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, FSN Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE 76ERS (2-23): The revolving door continued to run in Philadelphia when Alexey Shved, who was averaging almost 10 points, was dealt to Houston on Friday. “It’s a challenge,” 76ers coach Brett Brown told reporters. “But it’s all part of the plan to navigate the future. That’s just the way it is.” Tony Wroten bounced back from a scoreless outing to score 19 in the 109-91 loss to Charlotte on Friday and averages a team-best 16.6 per game while Carter-Williams has contributed 15.4 points and 7.8 assists per contest.
ABOUT THE MAGIC (10-19): The mental fatigue of being on the road for a league-high 19 games may have taken its toll on Orlando, which has lost five of its last six at home. Rookie Elfrid Payton notched his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 assists, but the Magic allowed visiting Utah to shoot 53.4 percent in a 101-94 loss Friday. Harris (18.6 points) and center Nikola Vucevic (18.2 points, 11.5 rebounds) continue to produce big numbers while Evan Fournier chips in at 14.6 points per game for Orlando.
BUZZER-BEATERS
1. The Magic have won six straight against the 76ers at home and six of the last seven overall.
2. Philadelphia SF Robert Covington is third on the team in scoring (11.8) and is averaging 19 over the last four games, making 17 shots from 3-point range.
3. Orlando G Victor Oladipo, the Rookie of the Year runnerup last season, must rebound after going 4-of-18 from the field for a total of nine points the last two games.