76ers at Magic
The Orlando Magic are trying to catch the Miami Heat for the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference and are taking care of business on their end with wins in four straight games. The Magic will try to make it five in a row on Monday when they host the Philadelphia 76ers, who are closing in on locking up the No. 3 spot.
Orlando is taking care of business at home against teams already out of the race and knocked off Cleveland, Atlanta, New Orleans and Memphis in the first four of the five-game homestand to draw within one game of the Heat. "We talk about all this stuff about whether we can handle (the pressure of a playoff push), but what it will come down to is us playing well," Magic coach Steve Clifford told reporters after the 123-119 win over Memphis on Friday. "It's that simple. We'll have to play well to win." The 76ers pulled clear of Indiana and Boston in the race for the No. 3 spot with a six-game winning streak but watched it come to an end with a 129-127 setback at Atlanta on Saturday. "I think it's the fact that we think we are a really good team," Philadelphia swingman Jimmy Butler told reporters, "and we just come in and do whatever we are going to do and think that we are still going to win."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBATV, NBCS Philadelphia, FS Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE 76ERS (47-26): Philadelphia heads into Sunday three games clear of the fourth-place Indiana Pacers and the loss at Atlanta marked the start of a stretch of seven of 10 on the road to close the season. The 76ers fell to 18-17 on the road with the setback but put together their fifth straight game scoring at least 118 points and remain an offensive juggernaut with All-Star center Joel Embiid leading the way. Embiid scored a team-high 27 points on 7-of-11 shooting and added 12 rebounds on Saturday in his 16th consecutive double-double.
ABOUT THE MAGIC (35-38): Orlando trailed by double figures for most of the game on Friday and went into the fourth quarter down 14 points before rallying to force overtime and grab a win. "Since I've been here, this is the first time we've been this deep into a season where we're fighting for something," All-Star center Nikola Vucevic told reporters after the win. "This was a big game for us, and we have some tough games coming up, but this is a great way to finish this stretch. This was huge for us and we needed this." Orlando will play its next five games against teams currently in the top eight in the East, including a showdown at Miami on Tuesday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Magic SG Terrence Ross is 13-of-22 from 3-point range over the last two games.
2. Butler scored at least 22 points in each of the last five games.
3. Philadelphia took five of the last six meetings, with the lone loss coming at Orlando 111-106 on Nov. 14.