No recovery from second-half slip
Magic can’t keep up with Jazz, who win by at least 15 for 14th time
The Orlando Magic were hoping to be the first team to beat the Utah Jazz this season when trailing after three quarters.
The Jazz would have none of it. The Magic took a small bite out of a double-digit lead early in the fourth quarter but couldn’t gain any traction after that and took a 124-109 loss Saturday against the Jazz in front of 4,242 at Amway Center.
Orlando (13-21) can take some solace in a lopsided loss to Utah. The Jazz entered Saturday’s game leading the NBA in net rating (+9.7) and now have 14 victories of 15 points or more. They also improved to 25-0 this season when leading after the third quarter.
Nikola Vucevic continued his offensively charged season with 34 points — his eighth game of 30 or more points — to lead the Magic, who were outscored 70-59 in the second half. Evan Fournier added 16 points and Dwayne Bacon had 13 for the Magic, who are 4-16 in the past 20 games of the series and have lost eight of the last nine meetings in Orlando.
Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points as Utah (27-7) put seven players in double figures. Jordan Clarkson had 18 points and Joe Ingles added 17 as the Jazz bounced back from Friday’s 124-116 loss to the Heat.
The Jazz hit their season average with 17 3-pointers but made
bigger gains by outscoring the Magic 24-13 in second-chance points and 17-7 from the free-throw line.
Mitchell sparked the Jazz with 15 third-quarter points, and his first 10 of the quarter helped Utah break open what was a four-point halftime lead and pull out to a 72-59 advantage.
Orlando made a quick charge early in the fourth quarter. Mo Bamba sank 3s on consecutive possessions to pull the Magic within 90-82.
But the Jazz got a 3 by Miye Oni, a layup by Ingles and a 13-foot jumper by Clarkson to push the lead back to 15.
Utah led by as many as 19 before the Magic made a late push with a 7-0 run to get within 12 with 4:01 to play. But Mitchell drained a 3 out of a timeout to stem the momentum and Orlando never got closer than 13.
The Magic played without starting forward James Ennis, who missed the game because of left calf soreness. His absence meant the Magic utilized their 14th starting lineup of the season.Going into Saturday’s game, the Magic had 173 total player games missed due to injury or illness — the most in the NBA.
The Magic continue their threegame homestand Monday when they take on the Dallas Mavericks at Amway. The game tips off at 7 and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Florida.