National Basketball Association

Want to know the Orlando Magic? Watch the fourth quarter

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Facing a deficit entering the fourth quarter, the Orlando Magic went starter-for-starter with the Indiana Pacers to secure a win. And a preview of the year.

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Friday’s preseason game against the Indiana Pacers quickly took a different tenor midway through the fourth quarter.

Slowly, Nate McMillan and Frank Vogel returned their starters to the floor. In a close game in the fourth quarter, what state the season was in did not matter. This was a game of significance now. The Magic were testing their new offense and defense and testing their players to pull out a win.

This was, of course an area the Magic had struggled with for the last several years. They struggled to win these tight contests consistently.

And the Magic were still not free from mistakes. But consistently someone stepped up to make a play.

Elfrid Payton darted into the lane and past defenders for a reverse layup. The confidence was growing.

He drove again and missed a floater. But Bismack Biyombo picked off the rebound and drew a foul and an and-one. The lead grew.

And the defense stepped up too. Myles Turner missed a jumper. Jeff Teague sent an errant pass Paul George could not corral before falling out of bounds. The Pacers were the ones unable to crack the Magic’s defense, reinforced with Bismack Biyombo.

Orlando defeated Indiana 30-19 in the fourth quarter to secure the team’s 114-106 victory at the Amway Center on Friday. And while it is just a preseason game, the Magic played their most complete and most important quarter so far. And passed with flying colors.

“Credit the Pacers,” Vogel said. “They made a run in the second half, they rolled their starters almost the entire second half. And without Evan Fournier, our guys still found a way to get a win. So, that’s a good win for us in the preseason. Wins and losses don’t really matter much in the preseason. But there were a lot of positives out there.”

There has been a lot of hand-wringing over what this team will look like on the court throughout the summer. The Magic were a confusing mass of players that did not seem to have a solid fit.

The fourth quarter though revealed itself to be what the Magic hope to become.

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After losing the lead they built up in a monster 44-point second quarter, the Magic entered the final 12 minutes trailing. And they had to rely again on their bench unit to get back into the lead.

This was a chance to test the Magic’s mettle in a very serious, very real way. Even if it was just a preseason game.

The Magic stood up to that test. And, more importantly looked like the team they wanted to be.

Orlando is still far from perfect. The Magic gave up 106 points and a 102.9 defensive rating. Still less than ideal for the Magic for an entire game.

But in that fourth quarter they gave up a 76.1 defensive rating. The Pacers shot 6 for 17 from the floor (35.3 percent). Al Jefferson was the only player to make more than one field goal.

Biyombo was instrumental in closing down the paint. But so too was just about anyone else on the floor. The Magic played together, smothering the Pacers offensively.

With the ball, Orlando shot 10 for 17 (58.8 percent) with a balanced effort. They got out in transition for nine of their 26 fast-break points.

The Magic were playing exactly how they want to play when everything is going right. They got stops to feed their offense in transition. They moved the ball, attacking inside and out to score. Players worked together — four assists in 10 makes — and they were aggressive.

The fourth quarter is everything the Magic want to be.

Almost, at least. It is still preseason after all.

In the preseason though, teams try accentuate the positives and build off those. The Magic were certainly better than they were Wednesday. In almost every way. And certainly in the fourth quarter.

The stretches where the Magic played well were longer and more consistent. Orlando struggled out of the gate in the first quarter once again. But once the momentum of the second quarter onslaught began, the Magic played with a renewed and more focused energy.

The kind of energy they will need to succeed when the games start counting.

And that carried through the uncertainty of the fourth quarter. The Magic had a game to win and they went out and won it.

As the Magic answer their questions about identity and style what cannot get lost is the ability to win a game. Orlando has plenty to clean up still — the poor starts, offensive frustrations with the starting group and the turnovers to start with — but the team dug deep and became capable to win a game against another team’s starters.

That is not insignificant.

Orlando struggled in some sense defensively and with fitting their identity throughout the game. The Magic’s second unit awakened in the second quarter to barrage the Pacers with 3-pointers.

The fourth quarter though — winning time — was the Magic playing how everyone expects them to play. Sometimes grinding. Sometimes frustrating.

But ultimately gritty and defensive. Feeding the offense with the stops and gaining energy from the defense. It is often the other way around.

The Magic still have work to do before the season begins. But the fourth quarter and the win Friday was a shining light for a team seeking a specific identity.

Orlando at least got a glimpse of it for 12 important minutes.

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