NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Schedule: Orlando Magic Face Philadelphia 76ers with Series Advantage at Stake

The Orlando Magic know they should be up 2-0 in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers but they also know they could easily be down 0-2 after they blew a pair of 18-point leads in the first two games. Now the Magic will look to grab a game against the 76ers and their first opportunity will come Friday night as each team looks to grab the series lead,

Philadelphia fought its way back from an 18-point deficit in Game 1 and grabbed a 100-98 win after Andre Iguodala buried a jumper at the end of the game. That win came despite a 31 point, 16 rebound effort from Dwight Howard. It looked like things could go the same way in Game 2 as the Magic once again built an 18-point lead only to see it slip away but Courtney Lee and Hedo Turkoglu stepped up big following Howard fouling out and Orlando evened the series with a 96-87 win.

The 76ers have had impressive balance in both games as Iguodala has had plenty of help from Andre Miller, Thaddeus Young, Samuel Dalembert and Lou Williams and with a home crowd on Friday they could easily put the Magic in a hole they don’t want to be in.

Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. ET