Dwight Howard

The Orlando Magic demonstrate the importance of having an inside and outside game. The 76ers aren't known for their performance in either of those areas. Combining the best of both worlds, the Magic produced a 115-99 win over the Sixers last night at Amway Arena. Orlando (35-22) is never bashful about chucking three-pointers. The Magic shot 15 for 33 from beyond the arc; the Sixers went 3 for 13. "When you're scoring the ball in the half-court set, you have to be able to shoot the ball, you have to get dribble penetration," Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said.

The Orlando Magic fired head coach Stan Van Gundy and split with general manager Otis Smith on Monday, the culmination of a season in which Orlando was ensnared in a long-running soap opera with Dwight Howard and made another first-round playoff exit. "It's time for new leadership and new voices," Magic CEO Alex Martins said in a statement. Smith and Van Gundy's problematic relationship with Howard weighed down the team all season after the all-star center requested a trade.

There's a sentiment among some fans that the 76ers are making a mistake by not throwing their hat into the sweepstakes for Orlando center Dwight Howard. Here's something they should know: The Sixers, like every other team in the league that would like to have the league's best center, have no doubt inquired about his availability. They should also know this: Team president Rod Thorn would personally drive any players on this roster to Orlando if Howard - and that's crucial here - or the Magic wanted to make that deal.

Al Attles' favorite memory of Wilt Chamberlain: The legendary 100-point game he produced for the Philadelphia Warriors against the Knicks on March 2, 1962. But Attles, who attends every Warriors home game, also remembers being on hand just days earlier when Chamberlain - his former teammate - set a record with 34 free-throw attempts. Attles never expected either record to be broken in his lifetime. But there he was Thursday night, watching as Dwight Howard stepped to the foul line time and again in the Magic's 117-109 victory at Golden State.

Dwyane Wade scored 41 points and the Miami Heat remained in first place in the Southeast Division by holding off the visiting Washington Wizards last night, 90-76. It's the second time Wade has topped 40 this season, both against Washington; he scored 40 last Wednesday in the nation's capital. "We didn't want to lose this game," said Wade. "When you've got a team that's not playing as well and in disarray, you've got to take advantage of it. " Mario Chalmers hit a three-pointer that put Miami up by eight points with 1 minute, 47 seconds remaining in regulation.

Opening on Team USA? Dwight Howard said he might not play for USA Basketball at the world championships. It was the first time he has publicly wavered about playing in the games in Turkey scheduled from Aug. 28 to Sept. 12. He'd stayed firm on his commitment even as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and other stars expressed doubts. Howard said he would let USA Basketball know his intentions "soon. " Hair-raising action You may have noticed that Orlando forward Mickael Pietrus was wearing his hair long, and he had good reason.

Rashard Lewis made the go-ahead layup with 1.3 seconds remaining, and the Orlando Magic overcame a 16-point deficit to beat the visiting Boston Celtics, 96-94, last night. Lewis took the ball after a broken play and sprinted down the baseline past Kevin Garnett for an uncontested layup. Rasheed Wallace missed a three-pointer at the buzzer, giving the Magic their second victory in three games against the Celtics this season. Dwight Howard overcame early foul trouble to finish with 19 points and 10 rebounds, including 11 points in the fourth quarter.

The NBA's most-decorated team avoided the biggest playoff collapse in league history and earned a chance to hang an unprecedented 18th championship banner from the rafters. Paul Pierce had 31 points and 13 rebounds, and little-used backup Nate Robinson gave the Celtics a boost with 13 second-quarter points as Boston beat visiting the Orlando Magic, 96-84, last night, earning a chance to play for a second NBA title in 3 years. The finals will begin Thursday in either Los Angeles or Phoenix.

Tonight, the 76ers open the 2009-2010 season against the team that ended the last season: the Orlando Magic, 2008-09 Eastern Conference champs. The Sixers practiced yesterday at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine before flying to Florida. Tonight's game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip-off at Amway Arena. Orlando, led by all-star center Dwight Howard, has three other current or former all-stars on its roster: Forward Rashard Lewis, guard Vince Carter, and point guard and former Saint Joseph's University star, Jameer Nelson.

NEW YORK - From Kobe Bryant to Chris Paul, Blake Griffin to Andrew Bynum, the NBA All-Star Game is shaping up as an LA story. Two Lakers (Bryant and Bynum) and two Clippers (Paul and Griffin) were voted as starters yesterday for the game, the first time in 15 years that two pairs of teammates have been voted to start for one conference. Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant prevented a Los Angeles sweep of the Western Conference starting lineup by earning a forward spot for the Feb. 26 game in Orlando.

ORLANDO SEEMS to be Rumor Central these days with names like Shaquille O'Neal and Jerry Sloan being tossed out there. O'Neal will meet with the Magic next week to discuss the general manager opening, multiple sources told ESPN. In his first season as an analyst for TNT, O'Neal spent the first four seasons of his career as the Magic's center starting with the 1992-93 season. He led the league in scoring with 29.3 points per game with Orlando in 1994-95. Sloan, meanwhile, has expressed interest in the open Charlotte Bobcats and Magic coaching positions.

MIAMI HEAT reserve center Michael Pittman was suspended without pay for three games Wednesday, and teammate Udonis Haslem was suspended for one game for their actions during the team's Game 5 win over the Indiana Pacers. Pittman threw a forearm to Indiana's Lance Stephenson as Stephenson charged the lane looking for a rebound. Pittman hit Stephenson hard in the shoulder/neck area. Haslem had a hard foul to the head of Tyler Hansbrough after Hansbrough had fouled teammate Dwyane Wade on the head, causing a small cut. Welcome to playoff basketball.

The Orlando Magic fired head coach Stan Van Gundy and split with general manager Otis Smith on Monday, the culmination of a season in which Orlando was ensnared in a long-running soap opera with Dwight Howard and made another first-round playoff exit. "It's time for new leadership and new voices," Magic CEO Alex Martins said in a statement. Smith and Van Gundy's problematic relationship with Howard weighed down the team all season after the all-star center requested a trade.

The sprint to the NBA playoffs is over and the postseason lineup is one of the most intriguing ever. LeBron James vs. Carmelo Anthony, the young and confident Oklahoma City Thunder looking for an early knockout against the defending champion Dallas Mavericks, two Los Angeles teams shooting for one title, and the venerable San Antonio Spurs looking for a second lockout-season title. Yes, the shortened yet surprisingly successful regular season is in the books and the playoffs promise to be even better.

IT WAS like the Mayan calendar. The NBA knew exactly by what date it had to settle its differences with its players or face Armageddon for the 2011-12 season. That's why after weeks of no-contact between the two sides, a hastily called meeting in late November accomplished in 48 hours what couldn't be done in the previous 5 months. It wasn't a coincidence that the tentative agreement that effectively ended the NBA lockout was reached on Nov. 26, 2011. That left just enough time to get things in enough order to have the opening tipoff on Christmas Day. That timeline was the drop-dead date for resuscitation.

  LeBron James and Chris Bosh sat out the game, resting for the postseason. Dwyane Wade played and got hurt. Wade lasted less than three minutes before dislocating his left index finger, and without their three stars Saturday night, the Miami Heat lost at home, 86-84, to the woeful Washington Wizards. Wade appeared to get his finger caught in another player's jersey and immediately went to the locker room grimacing in pain. He never returned, even though fans chanted "We want Dwyane!"

    Danny Granger scored 29 points to help the Indiana Pacers beat the visiting Milwaukee Bucks, 118-109, Thursday night and clinch home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. George Hill had 22 points and eight assists and David West added 21 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists for the Pacers, who won their seventh straight and 11th of 12. The Pacers have scored at least 100 points in 12 of their last 13 games. Brandon Jennings scored 27 points and former Pacer Mike Dunleavy added 23 for the Bucks.

DWIGHT HOWARD'S season is over. His chances to help Team USA win another Olympic gold are likely done, too. Orlando's All-Star center told ESPN.com he will have season-ending back surgery. Friday's operation in Los Angeles to repair a herniated disk also will keep him from playing in the Olympics in London, Howard's agent, Dan Fegan, told ESPN.com. "I tried to play through it and it just made my back worse," Howard said. Howard has been dealing with back problems since early March, but it wasn't until last week that a doctor discovered the herniated disk.

On March 30, the 76ers lost a game at Washington that was so ugly and so inexplicable that some had trouble believing what they had witnessed in the Verizon Center. As managing owner Joshua Harris left the crypt-like loser's locker room in the company of assistant coach Aaron McKie after a 97-76 thrashing by the Wizards, Harris had the look of a man who had little comprehension of what had just transpired. Shortly after Harris, shaking his head in disgust, walked by, coach Doug Collins was explaining that the loss - an uncompetitive affair in which the Wizards made 48 percent of their shots compared to the Sixers' 37 percent and outrebounded the visitors by 52-38 - was a "red-flag game.

ORLANDO - One of the main reasons for the 76ers' early-season success was the matchup problems they posed for other teams. But times have been rough of late, and winning games hasn't been the easy task it used to be. So, to have a better shot at winning, coach Doug Collins now is matching his team against the opponent. At least he was for Monday's game against the Orlando Magic. Shorthanded because of injuries to starting center Dwight Howard (back) and his backup, Glen Davis (sprained knee)