By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Tip-off: 7:00 pm ❖ Location: Orlando, FL ❖ TV: NBCSP+, NBA TV ❖ Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
The Philadelphia 76ers (40-30) play the second half of their back-to-back tonight in Orlando against the Magic (21-50). The Sixers have won four in a row and are 8-3 in the month of March while the Magic come into tonight's game losing seven of their last eight games. Philadelphia has won both of the previous meetings between the two teams earlier this season by scores of 130-11 and 116-105, respectively. Over the last five games, Ben Simmons is averaging a triple-double – 13.6 points, 11.6 assists, 10.0 rebounds.
The Sixers are the lone Eastern Conference playoff team in action tonight, so a win would put them in sole possession of fourth place in the East while a loss would shift them back down to fifth.
Last game for Philadelphia: The Sixers dominated the Memphis Grizzlies in Philadelphia on Wednesday night, leading by 34 at one point. The large advantage gave Brett Brown the opportunity to rest his starters ahead of Thursday's game in Orlando. Ben Simmons tallied 13 points, nine assists and seven boards in only 25 minutes while Joel Embiid had 14 points, seven rebounds and just one turnover. The Sixers as a whole shot nearly 55 percent from the floor with all five starters finishing in double figures. The fourth quarter gave two-way players Demetrius Jackson and James Young to get some minutes, but the Sixers' end-of-the-bench backups were outscored by 16 in the fourth. Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Marco Belinelli and J.J. Redick each had 15 points.
Trending: Joel Embiid magnificently trolled Colin Cowherd after 40th win
Last game for Orlando: The Magic met a suffocating Raptors defense in their last game, falling by a final score of 93-86. Orlando actually led 76-68 after three quarters, but the first place Raptors held them to just 10 fourth quarter points. Reserve guard Shelvin Mack led Magic scorers with 17 while Aaron Gordon and Nik Vucevic had 16 and 15, respectively. Orlando turned the ball over 15 times, resulting in 23 points for Toronto.
Top performers
Joel Embiid vs. Magic this season: 23 ppg, 14 rpg, 3.5 apg, 50% FG
Aaron Gordon vs. Sixers this season: 18 ppg, 8 rpg, 44.4% FG
| Matchup Preview | March 22, 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Philadelphia 76ers (40-30, 17-19 Away) |
Orlando Magic (21-50, 14-20 Home) |
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