PHILADELPHIA – Rashard Lewis scored 24 points, Dwight Howard added 23 points and 15 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic notched their third straight 50-win season with a 109-93 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.
Vince Carter contributed 17 points and Matt Barnes had 14 for the Southeast Division-leading Magic (50-21), who won 50 games in three straight seasons for the first time since 1993-96. The Magic have won three straight and 10 of 11. Mickael Pietrus and Jason Williams had 10 apiece.
Howard was 9 for 11 from the field in his league-leading 55th double-double for Orlando, which has won seven consecutive regular-season games against the Sixers.
Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand led the Sixers with 23 points apiece, while Samuel Dalembert had 16 points and 14 rebounds. The Sixers have dropped three in a row and fell to 11-24 at home. They own the third-fewest home wins in the league behind only Minnesota (nine) and New Jersey (three).
Philadelphia got within 71-67 with 4:46 left in the third quarter before the Magic pulled away thanks to their deft 3-point shooting against the worst 3-point defensive team in the league.
Seven different Magic players connected on at least one 3-pointer, with Barnes going 4 for 4. Orlando was 16 for 31 from beyond the arc.
After a dunk by Iguodala closed the gap to 93-84, the Magic quickly responded with a running hook shot by Howard and a 3-pointer by J.J. Redick for a 98-84 advantage with 6:14 remaining.
Philadelphia never got closer than eight the rest of the game.
Howard had 13 points and 10 rebounds at halftime as the Magic jumped out to a 56-47 advantage. Orlando shot 53 percent from the field and was 7 of 12 from 3-point territory.
Notes
Forward Thaddeus Young (right thumb fracture) and guard Lou Williams (back) sat out for the Sixers. Forward Jason Kapono started for the first time this season for Philadelphia. … Pietrus was questionable with a sprained left ankle, but came off the bench in the second quarter.