Magic Musings: All-around complete effort propels Orlando past Detroit
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Getting significant contributions from a number of players in a number of areas, the Orlando Magic rolled to a 112-98 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
Jameer Nelson was back in action after missing two games with a sore left knee and finished with a season high in assists with 11, all in the first three quarters. Nelson's return caused Victor Oladipo to take on a reserve role, but he wound up leading the Magic in scoring with 20 points.
Even with Arron Afflalo being held to 15 points, the Magic shot almost 50 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Pistons 44-36 in a near total reversal of their 103-87 loss at Detroit last week.
Nikola Vucevic was still sidelined in that game because of a concussion suffered three weeks earlier. While his final statistics weren't eye-popping (14 points, six rebounds), his mere presence helped neutralize the Pistons' size.
Glen Davis had 18 points despite spending all of the fourth quarter on the bench as coach Jacque Vaughn went with Maurice Harkless (15 points, nine rebounds) at power forward.
The Magic took 57-43 halftime lead and went on to top 100-point mark for the sixth time in their last seven home games. Their last such game away from home was a 126-125 double-overtime loss Dec. 3 at Philadelphia.
Josh Smith led the Pistons with 25 points despite going 3 of 9 from the free-throw line.
THE TURNING POINT
After a first quarter where neither team led by more than five points, the Magic outscored the Pistons 21-8 during a stretch of more than six minutes in the second quarter. Ten of those points were from Oladipo.
THE DIFFERENCE MAKER
Kyle O'Quinn had eight points, five rebounds and six blocked shots in 20 minutes off the bench. His six blocks are the most by any Magic player since Dwight Howard was traded away after the 2011-12 season.
STAT OF THE GAME
The Magic had 32 points in the paint by halftime. They accounted for 22 the entire game against the Pistons last week.
WHAT'S NEXT
Friday night vs. Oklahoma City, 7 p.m. (FOX Sports Florida).
You can follow Ken Hornack on Twitter @HornackFSFla or email him at khornack32176@gmail.com.
