It's ugly, but it's good enough

PHILADELPHIA - The 76ers had one of their worst performances of the season to open a rugged stretch on the schedule.

It was still good enough to beat slumping Orlando.

However, the surprising Sixers know they'll have to play better if they want to prove they're for real during a 10-day stretch of games against some of the top teams in the NBA.

Andre Iguodala had 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead Philadelphia to its 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's total of the season. Dwight Howard's 17 points and 11 rebounds weren't enough in Orlando's fourth straight loss.

The Sixers shot 38 percent from the floor, 27 percent from 3-point range and 53 percent from the foul line, some of their worst numbers of the season.

"I would have not bet on us winning that game tonight," with those numbers, coach Doug Collins said.

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.

"That was a much-needed win for us here with what we have ahead of us this week," Collins said.

Howard wants out of Orlando and criticized his teammates on 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.

After losing to the lowly Hornets, Howard said his teammates should just stay in the locker room if they didn't want to play.

Orlando's star center said it's OK to rip his team even though he'd like to be traded.

"It's not the first time I've called them out," Howard said. "As a leader, you've got to do things that people don't like. People hate what they don't understand. My teammates understand why I said what I said. They all agree. It's not like, 'Oh, Dwight's wrong with what he said.' But that's with anything. My job is to challenge my teammates and challenge myself to go out and play every night."

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.

"We're still a great basketball team, we're just going through a tough stretch. That's it," Howard said.

Associated Press