Tune into Sun Sports at 6:30 p.m. to watch the Orlando Magic take on the Philadelphia 76ers. NBA Magic territory.
Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy is running out of ideas to help solve his team's offensive woes.
A visit to Philadelphia may not be the answer.
The 76ers have used one of the league's top defenses to compile a sterling home record, which they will try to improve further with a rare win over Orlando on Monday night.
The Magic (12-8) scored 100 or more points in eight of their first 13 games en route to a 10-3 start, but they've topped 92 just once over their last seven contests. They've dropped five of those seven while averaging 81.1 points on 38.8 percent shooting.
Orlando had one of its better recent shooting performances (48.4 percent) Sunday but shot a season-low 44.8 percent (13 of 29) from the free-throw line in a 106-85 home loss to Indiana. The Magic committed 19 turnovers, and finished with 24 fewer field goal attempts than the Pacers en route to their third consecutive defeat overall.
With 24 points, All-Star center Dwight Howard was the only Orlando player to score more than 14.
"We're in a real tough stretch and guys are playing poorly," Van Gundy said. "I don't know what else we can do. ... It's easy to find the reasons. The hard part is to make it better. That's frustrating to me as a coach."
What could add to the Magic's frustration is a matchup with the 76ers, who are allowing 87.0 points per game on 41.8 percent shooting in their second season under Doug Collins.
Philadelphia (14-6) has held its last two opponents below 75 points, including a 95-74 rout of Detroit on Saturday in which the Pistons shot 34.9 percent.
Andre Iguodala had 10 points and 10 rebounds for his eighth career triple-double and first this season while helping the Sixers improve to 10-2 at home. Lou Williams scored a team-high 17 points off the bench for the third straight contest.
"To me, winning is the most important thing," Iguodala said. "As long as we are continuing to win, that's most important. Stats are nice and I'm happy to get the triple-double, but I'm most pleased that we got another win."
Philadelphia hasn't won often lately against the Magic, dropping 15 of the last 17 matchups. The 76ers have also lost six in a row at home to Orlando dating back to the beginning of the 2008-09 season.
The Magic will need to extend that streak to avoid matching their longest skid from last season, but they'll be playing once again without starting point guard Jameer Nelson.
Nelson missed Sunday's game with concussion-like symptoms after taking a blow to the head and jaw during a 93-67 loss at New Orleans on Friday.
Philadelphia center Spencer Hawes has missed the last seven games with a strained left Achilles', while rookie forward Nikola Vucevic has been sidelined for the last four with a left leg injury.
Hawes' absence might make it easier for Howard to continue his recent success in Philadelphia. He's averaged 24.0 points on 62.2 percent shooting in his last three games there, recording a double-double each time.
