Anderson snapped a 53-53 tie with a follow dunk, igniting a 10-1 burst with 6:50 remaining in the third quarter. He added a driving layup and a free throw in the surge, which Derek Strong capped with a foul shot for a 63-54 cushion.

"The key was to rebound and to play good defensively," said Anderson. "That's what has been the key for winning against good teams. It was a hard-fought game, it wasn't pretty but they all count. You try to win as many as you can on the road."

The Magic, losers of their last two on the road, improved to 9-22 away from the CoreStates Center.

The 76ers were held without a field goal for more than eight minutes in the quarter, missing 12 straight shots. They were 3-of-17 from the field in the third period.

Philadelphia's offense collapsed in the second half as it made only just 22 percent (8-of-31) of its shots after hitting at a 54 percent clip in the first half.

"We won with defense," said Orlando coach Chuck Daly. "We worked hard defensively and we rebounded very well, that's where we are in terms of who we are as a team and what our identity is. It's not our offense, I can assure you that."

Anderson added eight rebounds and seven assists, Horace Grant collected 18 points and 11 rebounds and Strong contributed 15 points for Orlando, which moved into a tie with Cleveland for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Allen Iverson scored 19 points but committed two of his four turnovers during the pivotal third-quarter run. The 76ers were without Coleman and Scott Williams, who were placed on the injured list before the game with a sprained ankle and strained right hip flexor, respectively.

After Strong's 15-footer 63 seconds into the final quarter gave Orlando a 70-59 bulge, Iverson scored seven points to lead Philadelphia on a 14-6 run. Tim Thomas pulled the 76ers within 76-73 with a pair from the line with 4:31 remaining, but the Magic dominated the rest of the way.

"The game of basketball is about runs," Smith said. "They made theirs in the third quarter, we made ours to try and get back in it in the fourth, but we came up short. We were shorthanded out there."

Grant's 19-footer and a lay-in by Bo Outlaw made it 80-73 with 3:19 to go. A dunk by Joe Smith narrowed the gap to four points 50 seconds later, but Strong and Anderson hit consecutive baskets to secure the win.

The Magic notched their third victory of the season against Philadelphia, improving to 20-5 against the 76ers since the start of the 1992-93 campaign.

Danny Schayes totaled 12 points and nine rebounds and Derek Harper added 10 points and six assists for Orlando, which shot 37 percent (30-of-80) from the field but held a 50-40 rebounding edge over the undermanned 76ers, who dressed 10 players.

"You're not gonna shoot the same every night," Anderson said. "You have to substitute the shooting with hard work and solid defense."

Joe Smith, starting for Coleman, scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Thomas added 15 points and Theo Ratliff had nine and six blocks for Philadelphia. Smith also had the 76ers' first two baskets in the third quarter, following his jumper at 11:46 with a seven-footer with 2:47 to go.

The teams were even after one quarter at 25-25 and then again at the half, 47-47. Grant had 14 points in the first half as the Magic shot 38 percent from the floor. They made up for their poor field goal shooting at the line, hitting 15-of-18 in the first 24 minutes and 26-of-37 overall.

The 76ers held a 32-26 edge after Mark Davis' driving layup midway through the second quarter.