ORLANDO, Fla. _ You kind of knew the 76ers would eventually put this game out of reach.
Thursday's contest at the Amway Center came against an Orlando Magic squad with two sidelined starters in Evan Fournier (knee) and Jonathon Simmons (wrist). They were also minus two key reserves in Jonathan Isaac (foot) and Terrance Ross (MCL).
With those four, the Magic had a tough time stopping the Sixers transition offense or creating their own. All that led to the 118-98 rout at the Amway Center. The margin of victory could have been wider. The Sixers (41-30) rested their starters late in the third quarter.
Their fifth straight victory has the Eastern Conference's fourth-place Sixers a game behind the third-place Cleveland Cavaliers. Meanwhile, the Magic (21-51) have lost three straight games and 15 of their last 18.
The Sixers had a balanced attack against the struggling and undermanned Magic.
Joel Embiid had 17 points and nine rebounds to go with three assists, one steal and one block in 20 minutes, 10 seconds. Dario Saric and Ben Simmons also double-doubles.
Saric had 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Simmons finished with six points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, three assists, one block and four turnovers. The Sixers other starters _ Robert Covington (15 points) and JJ Redick (12) _ scored in double figures. So did reserves Ersan Ilyasova (18) and Marco Belinelli (15).
Rookie swingman Furkan Korkmaz made his first appearance since Dec. 10. He had been sidelined for 43 games with a Lisfranc injury to the middle of his left foot. The Turkish player finished with three points on 1-of-5 shooting.
Reserve Rodney Purvis led the Magic with 19 points. Aaron Gordon added 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Sixers led by as many as 35 points (95-60) on Belinelli's 3-pointer with 2 minutes, 28 seconds left in the third quarter.
The visitors held a 16-0 advantage in fast-break points in the half and 32-10 for the game.
You had to know this wasn't the Magic's night when Embiid made a 3-pointer late in the second quarter. The all-star turned around and ran back on defense before the ball went into the net.
