76ers at Magic
The Orlando Magic have been slumping for several weeks, but they were particularly embarrassed on their recent two-game road trip. The Magic will try to recover from that one-sided stretch when they return home to take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.
After finishing a homestand with a solid 102-94 win over Toronto on Friday, Orlando lost by 27 points at Atlanta and 24 at Houston to fall a season-high 14 games under .500. "We know they're a good team and we know they can shoot the ball, but we also know we have to play better defense," forward Serge Ibaka told reporters after Tuesday's 128-104 loss to the Rockets, who hit 16-of-38 3-pointers. The loss was made even more painful when forward Aaron Gordon was forced to leave with a bone bruise in his right foot, leaving him questionable for this one. The 76ers extended their losing streak to five games - all without star center Joel Embiid (knee) - with a 111-103 home loss to San Antonio on Wednesday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, FSN Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE 76ERS (18-34): Embiid, who averaged 21.5 points and 10 rebounds in two earlier meetings with Orlando, has missed seven games in a row and 10 of the last 11 and he has already been ruled out for Thursday's affair. Jahlil Okafor, the subject of trade rumors, had a quality showcase performance with 20 points and eight rebounds against the Spurs. Rookie Dario Saric buried 4-of-5 3-pointers en route to 20 points and he had a career-high 21 while making 3-of-3 triples in the first game with the Magic on Nov. 1.
ABOUT THE MAGIC (20-34): Forward Jeff Green missed the loss to Houston to be with his wife for the birth of their first child, but is expected to return to action Thursday. Ibaka picked up some slack with a 28-point night, his best total since Dec. 13, and guard Evan Fournier had his highest output since returning from a foot injury with 21 points. Green, Ibaka and Fournier each had 16 points in Orlando's 105-88 rout at Philadelphia on Dec. 2.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Orlando has won four straight meetings and 18 of the last 23.
2. Saric is averaging 18.8 points over his last four home games.
3. Magic C Nikola Vucevic had 19 rebounds against Houston and has four double-doubles in his last six games.