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Thursday, Apr. 12 8:00pm ET
Iverson held to 12 points in defeat

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – When the Orlando Magic responded to their clinching of a playoff berth last week with two poor outings, something had to give.

Tracy McGrady
Orlando's Tracy McGrady drives the baseline around Tyrone Hill.
Unfortunately for Magic coach Doc Rivers, it was his body, as sickness forced him to miss a practice for the first time in his pro career.

But Rivers was feeling hale and hearty Thursday night after the Magic, behind Tracy McGrady's 31 points, beat the Philadelphia 76ers 101-77.

"We're back, if that means anything," said Rivers, who was out with the flu. "I feel a lot better. It's amazing what a win will do for your health."

"I think we kind of slipped away after we clinched our playoff spot," McGrady said. "But our focus is back and we're back playing Magic basketball."

The Magic remained a half-game behind Charlotte in the race for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Hornets beat New Jersey 88-78 Thursday.

McGrady had 25 points in the opening half, including a thunderous dunk over 76ers center Dikembe Mutumbo midway through the first quarter that electrified the sellout crowd of 17,248 and set the game's tone.

"I think everybody came out aggressively with a lot of energy," said McGrady, who shot 10-for-18 from the field and 8-for-10 from the free-throw line. "That's what we stressed in our pregame meeting, that we needed energy. We got that from everybody."

Tyrone Hill's 16 points led Philadelphia, which suffered its worst loss since a 25-point defeat to Houston on Feb. 7. Allen Iverson, the league's leading scorer, was held to 12 points on 5-for-15 shooting.

The 76ers, who clinched the Eastern Conference's top seed earlier this week, have lost two straight games after a stretch that saw them win five of six.

"Maybe this was a good lesson for us," Philadelphia coach Larry Brown said. "We've got a game Sunday, and then we've got to get our 'A' game for the playoffs or all this winning the division and conference won't mean anything."

The Magic broke open the game late in the second quarter, outscoring Philadelphia 15-4 in the last 4:13 of the half. Dee Brown had two 3-pointers in the run, the last coming with 3.5 seconds before intermission to give Orlando a 61-36 lead.

Brown scored 17 points, his best outing in three games since coming off the injured list. He missed 75 games after tearing his left quadriceps tendon during training camp.

"We're not a team that can just turn a switch on and off," Brown said. "We've got to play with energy the entire game. That's what makes us tough. Our team is built the way we showed tonight."

The Magic shot 11-for-21 (52 percent) on 3-pointers, with Brown's five leading the team. Philadelphia missed all 10 of its attempts from beyond the arc, with Iverson misfiring on six.

Orlando had a 9-2 run early in the third quarter, opening a 32-point lead with 8:29 remaining in the period. The 76ers couldn't close within less than 24 points, and the Magic eventually stretched their advantage to 34 points with 8:34 left in the game.

Troy Hudson added 21 points and Bo Outlaw grabbed 14 rebounds for Orlando.

Game notes
On the day that the NBA voted to allow any type of defense next season, Philadelphia was whistled twice for illegal defense. ... The sellout was Orlando's fifth of the season and second in a row. ... Philadelphia has lost 20 of 24 games in Orlando. The 76ers are 16-32 overall to the Magic. ... Supermodel Tyra Banks and tennis star Jim Courier were in attendance.

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RECAPS
Charlotte 88
New Jersey 78

Milwaukee 115
Utah 93

Orlando 101
Philadelphia 77

Sacramento 107
San Antonio 105

Portland 100
Vancouver 87

LA Lakers 119
Minnesota 102


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