ORLANDO, Fla. -- The last time Nikola Vucevic topped the 30-point mark before Sunday night was one month, one coach and one philosophy ago.
The Orlando Magic's leading scorer and rebounder this season has made his mark far more frequently at the offensive end than the defensive end. So the defense-first approach the past six games under coach James Borrego would not appear to impact him as much as it would guards Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton.
But the Magic have proven that a shot-blocking center isn't required in order to dissuade teams from scoring at will near the rim. They held the Philadelphia 76ers to 12 points in the paint through three quarters of what turned out to be a 103-98 victory.
"We're going to hang our hat there. That's what we do. We want to win the paint every single night," Borrego said.
And with Vucevic scoring 31 points and pulling down 14 rebounds, it wasn't hard to figure out why the Magic finished with a 50-26 advantage in that category. His dunk with less than a minute to go off a dish from Oladipo supplied a much-needed cushion against the Sixers, who had come back to life after appearing dead and buried moments earlier.
"It's really just the way we were playing, the plays we ran, Victor driving," Vucevic said of his fifth game this season of 30 or more points. "I was able to take advantage of it, just feeding off my teammates to get the best shot I can and trying to be aggressive."
Vucevic dominated Sixers rookie Nerlens Noel in the third quarter, flashing his offensive versatility by scoring a variety of ways.
"We had to find ways to get him the ball away from the post-up," Borrego said. "And we were able to do that. The pick-and-roll produced a lot of driving lanes."
"We pretty much made the game easy for him today," said Oladipo, who had nine of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. "Plus, he can score on the block anytime he wants. So it's like the best of both worlds."
Vucevic turned in a 34-point, 18-rebound outing Jan. 23 at New York. But in a telling commentary on how ineffective the Magic's attempt to try to simply outscore people was, they gave up 113 points that night in losing to the lowly Knicks.
They have now held six straight opponents under 100 points since Borrego was promoted from assistant coach after the firing of Jacque Vaughn.
"We're more committed to keeping the ball out of the paint, whether it's the man on the ball or off the ball," Borrego said.
Asked whether he and his teammates are committed to Borrego's philosophy for the long haul, Oladipo replied, "There's no question. We've won, what is it, three in a row now? If it's working, why stop doing it?"
With the Sixers using a smaller lineup, Borrego largely had Vucevic as his only big man on the floor. Dewayne Dedmon barely got into the game after halftime, and Kyle O'Quinn never got off the bench at all.
Veteran Willie Green played the entire fourth quarter and wound up logging a season-high 32 minutes while collaborating with Oladipo and Payton in a three-guard lineup.
"He's helping us on both ends," Borrego said of Green. "He really is. He settles us offensively. He moves the ball. He takes what the game gives him. The guys like playing with him. He brings us a great spirit."
The Magic's insistence on packing the paint forced the Sixers into 34 attempts from 3-point range. JaKarr Sampson nailed a pair in the fourth quarter, and recently acquired Isaiah Canaan hit one with less than a minute to go.
"We'll stay with our defense, and we'll play the odds," Borrego said.
More often than not of late, the Magic have done so and come up winners.
You can follow Ken Hornack on Twitter @HornackFSFla or email him at khornack32176@gmail.com.
