Orlando Magic Grades: Orlando Magic 105, Philadelphia 76ers 88
The Orlando Magic responded to their loss Thursday night. They put in their best offensive performance of the season in blowing out the Philadelphia 76ers.
VS.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| Magic | 21 | 29 | 32 | 22 | 105 |
| 76ers | 14 | 28 | 19 | 27 | 88 |
It was unclear how the Orlando Magic would react playing a back to back following a disappointing and disheartening defeat in Memphis on Thursday night. That loss had all the workings of a spirit-crushing loss. One that sets a team back.
Or perhaps it could be one that galvanized the team.
The Magic had a game the next day in Philadelphia. This was a chance to erase that awful memory.
Orlando did that — and a little bit more.
After falling behind 9-3 early in the game, the Magic took control. They buckled down on defense and got the ball moving inside and out. They scored the next 16 points and took control of the game, never really looking back.
Orlando came out of the locker room in the third quarter roaring and quickly opened up a 15-point lead on its way to a 104-88 win over the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on Friday. The Magic more than responded. They played with heart, energy, efficiency and physicality. The Magic
The Magic more than responded to Thursday night’s defeat. They played with heart, energy, efficiency and physicality. Orlando dominated the game, moved the ball and, most importantly, made shots.
Everyone seemed to play their role and the Magic finished. They put the game away early and quickly regained control when the Sixers tried mounting a run. Philadelphia could not get out of its own way and missed several 3-pointers, but Orlando was solid defensively.
And the league’s worst offense finally made some shots. Again and again, moving the ball in a way the team had not to this point in the season. Or had done so rarely this season.
For once, the Magic had everything rolling and left their opponents scratching their heads in frustration. It was the Philadelphia crowd frustrated and booing a disappointing effort.
The Magic more than did their part to frustrate the home team. They dominated the game.
Aaron Gordon
F, Orlando Magic
What they got instead was one of his best offensive performances of the year. Certainly his highest scoring. He scored 20 points on 9-for-14 shooting. He was aggressive but selective with his shot. He made sure he was set and balanced on most of his shots.
Really what he did was wait for and take his spots. He cut well and scored off others’ passing. That was indicative of the Magic’s offensive success throughout the game. That is where Gordon can take the most advantage.
Evan Fournier
SG, Orlando Magic
Fournier struggled to shoot the ball, one of the few players who did this evening. He made just 4 of 11 shots. His first field goal did not come until the final play of the second half when he got his shoulders past a defender and scored a layup on a completely broken play. But that made it an eight-point game and set up a strong third quarter.
Fournier had a big part to play in that. He hit a few 3-pointers and was solid at getting into the paint and getting to the foul line.
Nikola Vucevic
C, Orlando Magic
Vucevic scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. He was solid posting up Joel Embiid or whomever the 76ers tried throwing at him. He kept the ball moving too with five assists. And his 3-point shot is a real weapon now with two more 3-point makes.
Vucevic is continuing to make a difference defensively. He has gotten into good help side position every time down the floor and is blocking and contesting shots strongly at the rim. Teams are not attacking him as much. At one point T.J. McConnell even peeled off his drive with Vucevic lurking in the paint. That is high praise. And a big reason the Magic’s defense has become so stout.
Jodie Meeks
SG, Orlando Magic
He made a 3-pointer with his first shot and seemed to get the ball rolling from there. His spacing clearly made a difference for the Magic when he was in. He should remain a pretty solid weapon.
Meeks finished the game with nine points on 2-for-6 shooting. He was clearly still a bit rusty and very eager to take shots when he got them. He added three steals to the game too as he was active on defense. But also still very clearly rusty.
Philadelphia 76ers
4-15, 15th East
Philadelphia allowed Orlando to get into a good rhythm offensively and could not hold down one of the worst scoring teams in teh league down. The 76ers gave up open shots and were a step slow throughout the game. The Magic made some tough shots but the Sixers did little to impede whatever offense the Magic were trying to run. When Orlando struggled, it was more because it did something wrong. Even Philadelphia’s press was ineffective.
Offensively, the 76ers could not hit open shots and found the Magic’s shot blockers to be too big of an impediment. Credit to Serge Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo and Nikola Vucevic for that presence even when they got beat on the glass. The Sixers just could not muster any offense outside of Embiid’s two-man game work.
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