Magic cast a spell on Pelicans
Vucevic scores 20 in return, helps lead Orlando to 130-119 win.
NEW ORLEANS — The Orlando Magic got starting center Nikola Vucevic back and the 7-footer looked like he hardly missed a beat offensively.
The rest of the Magic were pretty good, too.
Vucevic was 8 of 15 from the floor and delivered 20 points and nine rebounds in his first game since Nov. 20 as the Magic beat the New Orleans Pelicans 130-119 Sunday at Smoothie King Center.
Jonathan Isaac scored 11 of his 21 points in the decisive third quarter as the Magic (12-14) tipped off a four-game road trip with a win that ended a three-game losing streak.
Evan Fournier totaled 16 points as Orlando shot 51.7% from the field and tied a franchise record by putting eight players in double figures.
D.J. Augustin finished with 17 points and eight assists one night after having his jersey retired at his high school alma mater,
Brother Martin. Terrence Ross finished with 14 points while Mo Bamba had 13 points and six rebounds, and Markelle Fultz and Michael Carter-Williams posted 10 points apiece.
Aaron Gordon (nine points) was the only Magic player who saw action who did not score in double figures.
Their 130 points also were a season-high, and they finished with 32 assists on their 46 made field goals.
“Whenever we move the ball like we did tonight, we’re a very efficient team. We have guys that can score but it has to come out of our team game,” Vucevic said. “I thought tonight we did a really good job. We had a lot of guys scoring in high double figures.”
The Orlando bench outscored New Orleans’ bench 54-41.
The Magic also finished with a season-high 17 3-pointers, marking back-to-back games with at least 15 3-pointers for just the fourth time in franchise history. Orlando has never made 15 3s in three straight games.
“We kind of got into a rhythm,” Ross said, “When the ball started moving, we started playing with more pace and getting stops. That definitely fueled the way we were
shooting. I think as the game went on we kind of got into a better and better rhythm.”
Jrue Holiday led the Pelicans (6-21) with a game-high 29 points. JJ Redick had 23, Brandon Ingram had 21 and Josh Hart had 20 for New Orleans, which has now lost 12 straight games.
Vucevic returned to the starting lineup after missing the past 11 games with an ankle injury.
Vucevic played 16 minutes in the first half and 29 overall, and showed few signs of rust.
“I’m really happy to finally be back after 11 games, and like three weeks,” Vucevic said. “We got a win, which was great. That made the comeback better, but I felt good. I know my wind was pretty good and I felt in a pretty good rhythm. So yeah, I felt good. Usually the first game [back] you’re going to feel pretty good because you’re pretty fresh and all, but I also was happy where I was and I played almost 30 minutes, so that was good as well.
“But most importantly we won the game and that was really important to start this road trip.”
Vucevic didn’t take long to score. He grabbed a miss by Fournier and converted the offensive rebound with a short jump hook with his left hand at the 10:56 mark of the first quarter. He wound up 4 of 7 for 11 points in the first half.
“A lot better than I thought he would,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said when asked how he thought Vucevic looked.
Isaac produced 11 points in the third quarter as the Magic posted 41 points and created some separation to build a 99-84 lead. They were 12 of 20 from the field, including 6 of 10 from the 3-point line. Vucevic knocked down two of those 3s.
The Magic’s 41 points were a season high for any quarter. The previous high was 40 in the third quarter Nov. 23 against the Pacers.
Ross posted nine points in a 3:47 stretch of the fourth as the Magic used a 21-9 burst to pull away. Ross and Bamba hit back-toback 3 before Bamba sank a 12-foot jumper from the baseline. Augustin added a layup before Ross knocked down 3s on consecutive possession. Carter-Williams capped the run with an 11-foot shot off the glass to give the Magic their biggest lead of the game at 118-95.
“The big stretch in the third quarter was with the second group. JI [Isaac] was in part of it and AG [Gordon] was in part of it and we made a bunch of threes,” Clifford said. “T-Ross made threes, MCW [CarterWilliams] made threes. D.J. was in the paint and Mo made two threes. So that was the stretch of the game that was the difference.”
The Magic trailed 28-21 late in the first quarter after the Pelicans used 3s by Redick, Hart and Lonzo Ball for a 9-0 burst.
Orlando made up ground in the second, and Isaac started a 7-0 run that ended with a corner 3 by Vucevic for a 44-43 lead with 6:14 before halftime.
From there, the teams traded the lead four more times as the Magic took a onepoint advantage into the locker room.
The Magic travel to Salt Lake City for a Tuesday game against the Jazz. The game tips off at 9 p.m.
“It was big. It gives us all the momentum we need going into Utah to see what we can do,” Bamba said.