Iguodala shines in 76ers' 74-69 win over Magic

By DAN GELSTON

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Andre Iguodala had 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead the surprising Philadelphia 76ers to their third straight win, 74-69 over the Orlando Magic on Monday night.

The Sixers raced to their best start in nearly a decade by taking advantage of a soft schedule for the first third of the season, but it gets tough from here. Orlando was the first opponent in a long run of games against winning teams that includes home games this week against Chicago and Miami.

Led by Iguodala's burst in the third quarter, the Sixers (15-6) outlasted the stumbling Magic and won despite posting their lowest point total of the season. Dwight Howard's 17 points and 11 rebounds weren't enough in Orlando's fourth straight loss.

Howard wants out of Orlando and criticized his teammates Friday for not playing hard enough in a loss to New Orleans. He missed eight of 13 free throws overall against Philadelphia and the Magic missed 14 of 17 shots from the floor in the third. Ryan Anderson had 14 points and 20 rebounds.

The Magic missed nine straight shots during a 6-minute stretch in the third that allowed the Sixers to build a double-digit lead. Jodie Meeks hit a 3-pointer for a 53-40 lead and the 76ers withstood three late 3s by Orlando that trimmed the final margin.

The Magic scored only nine points in the third quarter. Howard had all three baskets.

With 6 minutes left in the game, the Magic had yet to reach 50 points.

Long the fourth pro team in Philadelphia, the improved Sixers are winning back fans one victory at a time. They improved to 11-2 at home in front one of their largest crowds of the season (16,299). Heading into a timeout in the third, the Atlantic Division leaders walked off toward the huddle to a standing ovation.

Coming off a triple-double against Detroit on Saturday, Iguodala fell four assists shy of a repeat effort. The rest of the Sixers struggled to score, but Philadelphia didn't need to do much against an Orlando team that has completely unraveled.

Sixers first year CEO Adam Aron conducted as he mingled with fans and the team's retro theme song was blasted for the enthusiastic crowd. Aron and the new ownership group have overhauled the game-night atmosphere, but the biggest change has come on the court.

They'll need more than a catchy tune to get through the next two weeks. After Chicago and Miami, the Sixers play Saturday at Atlanta. They return home next week for games against the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers.

Fans yelled "On the list!" at Howard, a reference to placing the Sixers on his short list of teams where he'd like to be traded.

Before the game, Howard walked around the locker room with a brick in each hand, playfully swinging them around and yelling, "I'm going to knock somebody in the head!"

He shot more bricks from the free throw line, not a total surprise considering he shoots 46 percent from the line.

Evan Turner scored 12 points for the Sixers and Thaddeus Young had 10.

Notes: Magic point guard Jameer Nelson did not travel with the team, sidelined with concussion-like symptoms after taking an inadvertent blow to the head and jaw in Orlando's loss at New Orleans on Friday. Coach Stan Van Gundy said Nelson could be sidelined another week. ... The 76ers played again without starting center Spencer Hawes (left Achilles strain) and his backup, rookie Nik Vucevic (left quad strain). ... Iguodala moved into fourth place on the team's career steals list, passing Charles Barkley. ... Orlando's nine points in the third was the low against Philly for a quarter.

• With the win tonight, the Sixers have won three straight after losing two of the three games prior. Philly is 15-6 this season. The Sixers did not win their 15th game in 2010-11 until Game #36 (15-21 mark). This was the last of 13 home games this month for the Sixers who are 11-2 at Wells Fargo Center, their best home start since going 11-2 in 2002-03. Orlando has lost four straight after not losing consecutive games prior this season. This is just the second time over the past 13 regular season meetings that the Sixers have beaten the Magic (12/18/10).
• Philly held Orlando to an all-time series low 69 points. The Sixers have held the opposition below 80 points in each of the past three games (71.7 ppg) and seven times overall this season after doing so six times in 2010-11. The three-game streak of holding opponents below 80 points is the longest in franchise history (single season) since the Syracuse Nationals did it in three-straight games from 10/28-11/4/56. Orlando has scored below 70 points in three of the past six games after doing so four times from 1998-99 through 2010-11.
• The Sixers scored a season-low 74 points tonight. The last time Philly had 74 or fewer points in a win was on 11/30/99 vs. New York. The Sixers are 2-1 when scoring below 80 points this season after going 5-12 in 2010-11.
• Orlando shot just 33.3% from the floor, marking the third straight game Philly has held the opposition below 40.0% shooting. The Sixers held four straight opponents below 40.0% shooting from 1/6-1/10. Philly is 8-0 when holding opponents below 40.0% shooting this season after going 10-1 in 2010-11.
• Dwight Howard shot just 6-of-17 from the floor. It is just the fourth time in his career that he’s had 17+ shot attempts with 6 or fewer made (last time 12/13/06). In 26 regular season games vs. Philly entering tonight, Howard was shooting 62.6% from the floor.
• The Magic shot 10-of-22 (45.5%) from the foul line tonight after shooting 13-of-29 (44.8%) yesterday vs. Indiana. Dwight Howard shot a combined 9-of-28 from the line in those games.
• Andre Iguodala had team-highs of 14 points and 11 rebounds after posting a triple-double on Saturday vs. Detroit. He now has four double-doubles this season (including the triple-double) after having 11 (including three triple-doubles) in 2010-11.
• Ryan Anderson had 14 points and a career-high 20 rebounds, including 11 offensive. He becomes the first Magic player not named Dwight Howard to grab 20+ boards since Ben Wallace had 20 at New Jersey on 4/14/00.
• The Sixers have recorded just 7 turnovers in each of the past two games.