Monday, April 11, 2011
Posted: 9:20 p.m.Updated: 11:10 p.m.
By Reuben Frank
CSNPhilly.com
BOX SCORE
The biggest cheer any Sixer got all night was for Andres Nocioni, when he pulled down a rebound early in the second quarter.
Why?
It was the Sixers third rebound of the game. Midway through the second quarter.
Twenty minutes into the game, the Magic had 25 rebounds and the Sixers had two.
I thought it was a typographical error when I got one of the stat sheets and we were being outrebounded 25 to 2 at one time, Sixers coach Doug Collins said. I dont know if I have ever seen that in my life. Ever. ... They just hammered us on the boards.
NBA
It was that kind of evening for the Sixers, who were without Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams Monday when they faced high-flying Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic in the second-to-last game of the regular season.
That was kind of eerie, Elton Brand said. To only have two rebounds and they have 25.
The Sixers battled, as they always do, and even took the lead momentarily in the third quarter, but in the end, Howard and the Orlando Magic were too fast, too strong and too good for the outmanned Sixers, and they left the Wells Fargo Center with a 95-85 win Monday night. The Magic led by 18 with under three minutes left.
With the Sixers loss, the Knicks clinched the No. 6 seed in the East and locked the Sixers into the No. 7 spot. Meanwhile, the Heat clinched the No. 2 seed when they beat the Hawks and the Celtics lost in Washington.
That means the Sixers and Heat will meet in a first-round playoff series starting Saturday or Sunday in Miami. The 76ersnow 41-40 and 8-10 in their last 18finish the regular season at home Wednesday against the Pistons.
They didnt look real sharp Monday. They havent looked real sharp for a while.
We have two guys down that we definitely needed tonight, Thaddeus Young said. But when we got out there, those guys just wanted it more than we did.
Brand had his usual terrific game22 points on 9-for-15 shooting with five boards and three assists. Nocioni contributed 13 points and six rebounds. Thats about it for positives.
Its not on high alert going into the playoffs, but I want to be prepared, Brand said. Weve got guys down, but we expect other guys to step up. Nocioni did a great job stepping up. He showed his resolve and showed hes going to be a great help for us when we get into that postseason. We have one more game at home to fine-tune things up and then it starts. Then its real.
The Magic outrebounded the Sixers 32-9 in the first half and 56-31 in the game. The last time the Sixers recorded fewer than 35 rebounds and allowed more than 55 was April 7, 1997, when they were outrebounded 66-32 by the Bulls (Luc Longley 11, Jud Buechler 10, Jason Caffey nine).
I cant sugarcoat it, when Evan Turner gets one defensive rebound in 25 minutes and Elton one in 37 and Spencer Hawes one in 38. You cant sugarcoat that.
Orlando also made 11 of 25 three-pointers (44 percent) and limited the Sixers to 5 for 17 from long range (29 percent).
The way they outrebounded us, hit those threes, its hard to win a ball game Brand said. Youve got to protect the paint or protect the three-point line, and we did neither.
With Iguodala out with knee soreness and Williams out with a strained hamstring, the Sixers were missing two of their four top scorers and their best defender.
The problem is that were such a sum-of-our-parts team that when were missing a couple pieces, it knocks us for a loop, Collins said. It really does.
They havent shot well now for five straight games, and guys like Turner, Hawes, Jrue Holiday and Jodie Meeks are all mired in pretty deep slumps.
E.B., he played really well today, said Young, just 4 for 12 for nine points. But he cant really do it by himself.
The Magic, whove been locked into the No. 4 spot in the East for a while and are headed to the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season, improved to 51-30 with a game remaining against the Pacers Wednesday in Orlando.
Orlando is 19-4 in its last 23 games against the Sixers and has won six regular-season games in a row at the Wells Fargo Center dating back to a 12-point Sixers win on Feb. 27, 2008.
The Magic won three of four this year against the Sixers, who havent won the season series over the Magic in 12 years, since the 1999 team won two of three.
Howard put on a show with 19 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a few acrobatic alley-oops. Former St. Joes star Jameer Nelson made five of eight threes and contributed 19 points and seven assists, and Ryan Anderson added 18 points and 14 rebounds in 22 minutes.
Holiday had 15 points and 11 assists for the Sixers but shot just 7 for 16. Nocioni tied his season high with three three-pointers and scored 13 points.
We didnt knock down our shots, Brand said. We took tough shots, and they got out into the break, and now youve got Dwight Howard stormin down the court, and they spread the court and hit some threes, got some looks and that really hurt us. ... Disappointing loss all the way around.
E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com
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