On Thursday (6th November 2008) night, Orlando Magic defeated Philadelphia 76ers by a score of 98-88. This was the third continuous win for Magic. For this team, Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu contributed 20 points each.
Howard, who was the All-Star center, fouled two times in the first 2 minutes. So, in the first half, he was limited to just 4 minutes. Tony Battie replaced him. The second quarter was started by Howard, but he fouled for the third time and hence was removed from the game. As Howard was removed from the scene, this was essentially an advantage for the 76ers.
In the first quarter, Battie scored 6 points and Magic lead by 30 points to 16. At halftime, the Magic were leading by 54 points to 43. During the third quarter, Howard was not troubled by fouls and this resulted in Magic taking a 23 point lead. Magic generally relies on Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson to display the pick-and-roll in the latter part of the games. However, in this match this skill was exhibited by Howard and Nelson. Nelson contributed 16 points for his team, which is his season high figure. Howard chipped in with 14 points out of which 7 were scored in the fourth quarter. At the end of the game, Battie finished with 22 playing minutes, 6 rebounds and 8 points.
For the 76ers, Thaddeus Young contributed 19 points. In the fourth quarter, a 23-point deficit was reduced to a 6-point deficit by the 76ers, but they could not pull in further. The 76ers exhibited poor shooting skills. On Wednesday, during their 106-83 loss at Miami, they could shoot just 38 percent of their shots. While playing against Magic, they could shoot just 35 percent during the first half.
