Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. ó Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis scored 20 points apiece and the Orlando Magic overcame Dwight Howard’s foul trouble to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 98-88 on Thursday night.
With All-Star center Howard limited to only four minutes in the first half, the Magic got strong performances from Tony Battie and Lewis, who picked up the rebounding slack as Orlando won its third straight game.
Thaddeus Young scored 19 points for Philadelphia, which placed four players in double figures. The Sixers cut a 23-point deficit to six in the fourth quarter but couldn’t draw closer.
Jameer Nelson added a season-high 16 points for the Magic.
CLOSING IN
SALT LAKE CITY ó Utah’s Jerry Sloan can become the first NBA coach to win 1,000 games with the same team when the Jazz host Oklahoma City on Friday night.
The Jazz are 999-596 since Sloan took over as coach in December 1988.
Sloan, the longest tenured coach in professional sports, discounted the approaching milestone after Utah improved to 4-0 Wednesday night with a 103-96 win over Portland on Wednesday.
“The NBA is for the players,” Sloan said. “I’ve been lucky to be a coach. (Reaching 1,000) is not something that I will do cartwheels over.”
The 66-year-old Sloan also coached the Chicago Bulls and is 1,093-717 as an NBA coach, giving him the fourth-most wins in league history.