Scene Setter:
PHILADELPHIA – The 76ers (8-47) make their first home appearance since the NBA All-Star Game break on Tuesday, hosting the Orlando Magic (24-30) at 7:00 PM EST at The Center. The match-up initiates the Sixers’ 12th back-to-back set this season, and is the first of two meetings between these teams over the course of the next week. The clubs will see each other again on Sunday at Amway Center in Orlando.This past Sunday, the Sixers, buoyed by Jahlil Okafor’s determined 18-point first quarter outburst, set the pace against the Dallas Mavericks, establishing a two-point lead, 30-28, by the end of the opening period. The Sixers’ margin grew to eight points four minutes into the second frame, but then the Mavericks’ veteran roster ramped up its intensity level, and went on to secure command by outscoring the Sixers by 20 points the rest of the half. Okafor concluded the contest with a career-high 31 points. He buried 12 of 19 field goal attempts, and seven of his 10 free throw tries. In addition to leading the Sixers in scoring in their 129-103 defeat at American Airlines Center, Okafor also grabbed a team-best eight rebounds. Although their latest outing was a loss, the Orlando Magic continued to show signs of progress on the heels of a slump that spoiled the team’s promising start to the campaign. After carrying an impressive 19-13 record into the 2016 portion of their schedule, the Magic went on to fall fifteen times in 17 games in a slump that began on January 1st. Then, two weeks ago, Orlando experienced a breakthrough in a home-and-home, back-to-back series with Southeast Division rival Atlanta. The Magic took the first tilt, 96-94, before prevailing in overtime by seven points the very next night. Two days later, in their final contest prior to the All-Star break, Orlando was close to pulling off an upset against San Antonio, but came undone in the fourth quarter, yielding 31 points en route to a 98-96 loss. Following their eight-day hiatus, the Magic didn’t miss a beat, clawing past Dallas for an overtime triumph. On Sunday, in their most recent game, the Magic held a brief fourth-quarter edge on Indiana, the Eastern Conference’s fifth-best team, before bowing, 105-102. Orlando has gone 3-2 over its last five games. Those five contests were decided by a total of 20 points. Series: The Sixers and Orlando are midway through their four-game season series. They first confronted each other the second week of the campaign, with the Magic notching a 105-97 victory at The Center. Orlando shared its offensive wealth that night, with seven of the squad’s 12 active players tallying at least 10 points. Elfrid Payton led the way with 20 points. For the Sixers, Nik Stauskas enjoyed one of the top showings of his two-year career. He established a new personal-high by scoring 18 points, and tied a career-high with five assists. The Sixers’ defense, especially in the second half, ruled the day in their 96-87 victory at Amway Center on January 20th. They gave up just 41 points after intermission, and received a quality bench boost from Jerami Grant. He produced 11 of his 12 points, three rebounds, two steals, and three blocked shots in the third quarter. Jahlil Okafor also played well, depositing 20 points. Payton put up 21 points in the Magic’s setback. Subplots:
Not only was Jahlil Okafor’s 31-point tear against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday entertaining to watch, it was fun to try do some research on. First things first. If you haven’t yet had a chance to see highlights from Okafor’s performance at American Airlines Center, check out the video below.Highlights vs Dallas >> Jahlil Okafor31 PTS / 63.2 FG% / 8 REBS >> https://t.co/mmBjtXARKOhttps://t.co/jyBPmnQQlR— Philadelphia 76ers (@Sixers) February 22, 2016 As for some of the statistical nuggets that surfaced surrounding Okafor’s big night in Big D, here’s one from the game itself that was discovered via the basketball-reference.com Play Index tool:Okafor is the youngest Sixer ever to reach 27 points in a game.— Brian Seltzer (@brianseltzer) February 22, 2016 And he would wind up being the youngest Sixer to ever get to 30 points in a game. Okafor’s official age on Sunday was 20 years, 68 days old. He also became only the fourth player in Sixers history to reach the 30-point mark before his 21st birthday, and now keeps company with Nerlens Noel, Thaddeus Young, and Tony Wroten. The recently created Twitter account @SixersStats, curated by members of the Sixers’ Public Relations department, had another quality piece of info that underscored the rarity of Okafor’s output:According to @EliasSports, @JahlilOkafor is 1st @Sixers rookie w/ 31p & 8r in game since @alleniverson had 40p & 8r vs. ATL on 4/9/97.— Sixers Stats (@SixersStats) February 22, 2016 Iverson holds the franchise’s single-game rookie scoring record. In the final week of what would be his 1996-1997 Rookie of the Year campaign, he exploded for 50 points in a road outing at Cleveland.
Highlights vs Dallas >> Jahlil Okafor31 PTS / 63.2 FG% / 8 REBS >> https://t.co/mmBjtXARKOhttps://t.co/jyBPmnQQlR
Okafor is the youngest Sixer ever to reach 27 points in a game.
According to @EliasSports, @JahlilOkafor is 1st @Sixers rookie w/ 31p & 8r in game since @alleniverson had 40p & 8r vs. ATL on 4/9/97.
Going into Sunday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks, Nik Stauskas was placed on a playing time limit after experiencing minor soreness in his right shin at Saturday’s practice in New Orleans. Stauskas has dealt with lingering, sporadic discomfort in that area since the start of training camp. Whatever the extent of Stauskas’ pain was, he showed no visible signs of being slowed in the 20 minutes he logged at American Airlines Center. He got quality lift on his three three-point field goal attempts, two of which found the bottom of the net. Stauskas also shifted fluidly around the floor, and made hard cuts to the basket, as he did here, in the third quarter, accelerating from the left corner to the baseline while drawing a foul on Dirk Nowitzki as he headed to the hoop. [[{“fid”:”48093″,”view_mode”:”default”,”fields”:{“format”:”default”,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:””,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:””},”type”:”media”,”attributes”:{“height”:”309″,”width”:”551″,”class”:”media-element file-default”}}]]As much as Stauskas is associated with perimeter shooting, he admitted Sunday he does look forward to getting chances to drive to the cup. Another one occurred Friday in New Orleans, early in the first quarter. [[{“fid”:”48095″,”view_mode”:”default”,”fields”:{“format”:”default”,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:””,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:””},”type”:”media”,”attributes”:{“height”:”311″,”width”:”551″,”class”:”media-element file-default”}}]]”I enjoy getting to the rim and having the opportunity to make plays,” said Stauskas, a Michigan product. “Ever since I was in college, I enjoy playing in the pick-and-roll, I enjoyed having the ball in my hands. That’s something I feel comfortable doing, and something I look forward to keep doing and keep getting better at throughout my career.”Stauskas’ shot selection this season reflects the focus he’s placed on producing on the outside, and in the lane. He’s taken 213 of his 338 total attempts (63.0%) from beyond the arc. Of his remaining 125 shots, 88 (70.4%) have come within eight feet of the rim. Over his last 10 games, Stauskas has hit 51.6 percent of his field goal tries, while going 18 for 38 from three-point territory (47.4%). Brett Brown discussed Stauskas’ progress on Sunday, saying “I think in general what we’ve seen is trying to get him to be a two-way player, let him be reminded of that bounce he had in college to find a cocky side, a swagger side, to point at [Los Angeles Clipper J.J.] Redick and [Atlanta Hawk Kyle] Korver, those types of players.””He’s got some offensive gifts that we’re trying to grow, and we’re trying to grow that disciplined defensive mindset and toughness, and I think he’s doing great,” Brown said. “I think he’s moving forward, and I think he’s got a lot more to give.”
The Orlando Magic were involved in one of the more significant deals that was executed leading up to last Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. They sent forward Tobias Harris, a career 12.9 point – 5.8 rebound per game forward, to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Brandon Jennings, the 10th overall selection of the 2009 NBA Draft. Despite Jennings having a solid scoring and facilitating track record, the guard is now on his third team in seven seasons in the league. “I’m just taking one game at a time,” Jennings told reporters after his Orlando debut last Friday. He tacked on 18 points in a reserve role, helping the Magic down Dallas in overtime, 110-104. “Definitely good to come here and get the first win of course. We just got to be consistent. That’s the main thing these last 30 games.”Jennings then netted 12 points, again off the bench, in Orlando’s narrow setback to Indiana on Sunday. Both Orlando and Detroit are aiming to make a push into the top eight spots of the Eastern Conference standings, all of which qualify for the post-season. As of Monday, the Magic were two games behind the Pistons, which are slotted 11th and ninth, respectively, in the East.
Sixers Health Report:
Nik Stauskas (right shin)
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