ORLANDO, Fla. -- Sporting fluorescent green soles on his shoes and a bandage near his right eye from a cut the night before, it was hard to not notice Glen Davis.
Tobias Harris wasn't quite so easily visible Sunday night. But the sight of him in uniform rather than a suit was another sign of progress for the Orlando Magic, even if the outcome of their game against the Phoenix Suns suggested otherwise.
The biggest positive the Magic could take away from their 104-96 loss was having Davis and Harris together for the first time, excluding practice situations. No rational individual was expecting Davis to duplicate his 20-point explosion Saturday night at Miami in what was his first game in nearly 10 months, back when Harris was still residing in the Milwaukee Bucks' doghouse. But the hustle he showed in diving for a pair of loose balls early in the fourth quarter was undeniable.
Harris, who suffered a high ankle sprain during the preseason, did all of his scoring in the first half and watched the final 9:31 from the bench. With his return, the Magic are now at full strength except for reserve forward Kyle O'Quinn, who missed his fourth consecutive game with a sprained right ankle.
"It was just good to get my feet wet out there, to go out there and play and get back into the flow of things," Harris said while soaking his left ankle in ice water. "My rhythm is going to come."
He's not the only one slightly out of rhythm. While the Magic have cut down noticeably on their turnovers, six of their past seven opponents have shot at least 47 percent from the floor. And while there's no denying both Harris and Davis have the talent to get on a roll offensively, their defensive assets aren't nearly as strong.
It's up to coach Jacque Vaughn to determine where they fit in on a team with no shortage of capable forwards, even if Maurice Harkless has been often invisible at times this season.
"Roles will have to be defined, minutes defined," he said. "All that comes with incorporating a group together. Hopefully we're this solid and no injuries happen from here on out, and we can get a rhythm together."
Harris averaged 17.3 points in 27 games after being acquired in February from the Bucks while showing little hesitancy in firing away from 3-point range. He missed all three of his attempts from that distance against the Suns.
"I thought I rushed a couple of them that I knew I could make," he said. "It takes time. But it'll be good the next game. I'll get it back."
His first basket came after Davis found him cutting in stride to the basket. For two players who had never been on the floor together in a competitive game, it looked as natural as could be.
"I love playing with Glen," Harris said. "He's a great teammate, and he brings a lot of energy and hard work."
"It's good to see those guys back on the court," said Victor Oladipo, who managed only six points on 3-for-12 shooting. "As much as it sucks to be off the floor, it's just as big of a blessing for them to come back and play."
With three games in four nights beginning Tuesday at Atlanta, the Magic won't lack for more opportunities to get Harris and Davis on the floor. Vaughn brought in the two of them in the third quarter and used them in the same lineup with Nikola Vucevic, Jameer Nelson and Arron Afflalo. The Magic responded with a 9-2 run to cut their deficit to three points, which was as close as they got to the Suns in the second half.
Healthy bodies are terrific. But victories are even better.
"Hopefully we can incorporate and learn and do whatever we need to do while getting some wins," Afflalo said.
You can follow Ken Hornack on Twitter @HornackFSFla or email him at khornack32176@gmail.com.
