Magic Musings: Disappointing season comes to a close with loss
A disappointing season for the Orlando Magic came to an end Wednesday night with a disappointing showing in the fourth quarter as the Brooklyn Nets kept their playoff hopes alive by rallying for a 101-88 victory.
The Magic got 26 points from Nikola Vucevic, 19 from Victor Oladipo and a season-high 18 from Andrew Nicholson, who got a rare start because Tobias Harris was unavailable due to a sore right Achilles tendon. But after leading by as many as 12 in the third quarter, the Magic saw the Nets tie it up at the end of the period and were then outscored 26-13 over the final 12 minutes.
Vucevic, bouncing back after a pair of subpar games, had 14 points in the first half and finished with his 45th double-double in 74 games as he also pulled down 11 rebounds. Despite his efforts, the Magic remained winless in Brooklyn.
The Magic's final record of 25-57 represents an improvement of two games from last season but was the fifth-worst record in the NBA out of 30 teams. They went 10-20 since James Borrego replaced Jacque Vaughn as their coach Feb. 5.
The absence of Harris, who will be restricted free agent this summer, caused the Magic to go with their 21st different starting lineup this season. Nicholson, in only the third start, hit his first four shots and also connected on a 3-pointer which gave the Magic their largest lead at 65-53.
Oladipo played the entire first half. Although he missed two free throws in the closing seconds, a tip-in by Kyle O'Quinn off the second miss put them up 52-48 at halftime. O'Quinn was playing for only the second time in the last 10 games.
THE TURNING POINT
After a dunk by Vucevic gave the Magic an 82-81 lead, the Nets went ahead for good by scoring the next 10 points. The Magic turned the ball over four times in a little more than three minutes, including an errant inbound pass by Maurice Harkless coming out of a timeout which resulted in a fast-break layup.
THE DIFFERENCE MAKER
Bojan Bogdanovic had a season-high 28 points off the Nets' bench, including four 3-pointers.
STAT OF THE GAME
Elfrid Payton became the first Magic rookie since Dwight Howard in 2005 to play all 82 games and their first player since Howard, J.J. Redick and Jason Williams in 2010 not to miss a game.
WHAT'S NEXT
NBA draft lottery May 19
You can follow Ken Hornack on Twitter @HornackFSFla or email him at khornack32176@gmail.com.
