(Field Level Media) Nikola Vucevic collected 25 points and 12 rebounds as the host Orlando Magic pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 112-97 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers last night.
Aaron Gordon added a double-double of his own with 18 points and 13 rebounds, along with seven assists, for Orlando, which outscored Philadelphia by a 32-15 margin in the fourth quarter.
The Magic improved to 78-38 all-time versus the 76ers for a .672 win percentage, their highest against any opponent.
Terrence Ross and Evan Fournier each had 13 points as Orlando had seven players score in double figures to post just its second win in seven outings.
Markelle Fultz finished with eight points in his first regular-season game against the team that selected him with the first overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft.
Josh Richardson scored 19 points and Ben Simmons added 18 for the 76ers, who have lost four in a row on the road.
Al Horford returned from a one-game absence to record 14 points on just 5-for-18 shooting in place of All-Star center Joel Embiid, who sat out after logging 35 minutes in Tuesday’s 98-97 win over Cleveland.
Ross and Fournier drained back-to-back 3-pointers to punctuate a 12-1 run early in the fourth quarter to help Orlando seize a 92-85 lead.
Tobias Harris’ basket did little to stop the momentum, as Vucevic worked the interior to score six of his team’s next 10 points as the Magic pushed their advantage to 102-89 with 3:12 remaining.
Simmons had a pair of dunks while Richardson and Furkan Korkmaz each drained a 3-pointer to highlight a 12-0 run midway into the third quarter as Philadelphia secured its biggest lead of the game at 71-63.
Orlando’s Michael Carter-Williams answered by scoring four quick points during his team’s 9-0 surge; however, the former 76ers guard received a flagrant-1 while fouling Richardson on a 3-point shot. Richardson, in turn, was whistled for a technical for shoving Carter-Williams to the floor. Philadelphia shot a robust 51.1 percent from the floor (24 of 47) and held a 36-20 edge in points in the paint during the first half, however it attempted just one foul shot. Conversely, Orlando made 13 of 17 tries from the charity stripe as the teams found themselves knotted up at 53 during intermission.