National Basketball Association

Sixers hold off Magic to claim 3rd win of season, all on road

Published Dec. 21, 2014 9:18 p.m. ET

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The limited success the Philadelphia 76ers have experienced this season has all been on the road.

That continues to be the case.

Michael Carter-Williams scored 21 points as the Sixers opened a seven-game road trip with a 96-88 victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday night.

The win ended a five-game losing streak. All three of their victories this season have come away from home.

"It's always great to win, but when you don't win that much, it's even better," Carter-Williams said. "I'm not sure what it is. When we're struggling on the road, it's a little easier for us to come back together because everyone is against us. All we have is each other."

Philadelphia trailed by 11 in the third quarter, but led by as many as 14 points in the fourth.

The Sixers also got a lift from their bench, which outscored the Magic reserves 37-20.

Victor Oladipo had 23 points for the Magic. Nik Vucevic finished with 19 points and 17 rebounds, and Tobias Harris added 17 points.

The Magic have lost four straight and six of their last seven.

Orlando looked to be in control as it inched out to its double-digit lead. But the Sixers closed the third quarter on a 22-7 spurt, and took a four-point lead into the final period.

Philadelphia kept that momentum going, scoring seven straight to open the fourth.

Orlando tried to stage its own late rally, but was thwarted by late turnovers.

Magic coach Jacque Vaughn tinkered with his starting lineup Sunday, inserting rookie Elfrid Payton at point guard and Kyle O'Quinn at power forward.

The move meant Oladipo shifted over to shooting guard, marking the first time he and Payton had started together in Orlando's backcourt this season. It also meant that offseason acquisitions Channing Frye and Evan Fournier -- who entered the night averaging 14 points per game -- were sent to the bench to anchor the second unit.

Results were mixed, but there was briefly a tangible effect on the defensive end for Orlando.

O'Quinn was the most active early, blocking three shots in the first half and being generally disruptive to the Sixers in the halfcourt with a handful of deflections.

Vucevic said it's all a work in progress.

"I think defensively, it's not really about a lineup," Vucevic said. "It's about us talking, being vocal, and following the game plan we have."

Philadelphia was held to just 5 of 19 from the field in second quarter and shot only 42 percent for the night.

It turned out to be enough, with all nine of the Sixers' available players scoring at least five points.

There was a brief verbal spat at one point during a timeout between Carter-Williams and Nerlens Noel, but coach Brett Brown said he liked how they were able to work it out among themselves.

"It's teammates talking to teammates. It's real," Brown said. "It proved to be a real healthy conversation so I let it go ... It's not like they just met each other and have issues. It's healthy issues, it's real, that's what families go through. It ain't always pretty. They talked it through and off we go."

TIP-INS

Magic: The starting lineup Sunday was Orlando's eighth different one of the season. ... Vucevic recorded his 16th double-double of the season.

76ers: G JaKarr Sampson started in place of Hollis Thompson, who was out with an illness. Reserve F Furken Aldemir sat out for the second straight game with plantar fasciitis in his right foot.