Magic power past Nets in NBA opener
Magic opened NBA season restart with 128-118 win over Nets.
The Orlando Magic were focused on winning the game in front of them.
Mission accomplished.
Evan Fournier scored 24 points as the Magic opened seeding play in the NBA season restart with an emphatic 128-118 win over the
Brooklyn Nets on Friday at HP Field House at ESPN Wide World of Sports.
Nikola Vucevic finished with 22 points and keyed a second-quarter surge with some brilliant passing as the Magic (31-35) moved past the Nets (30-35) into seventh in the Eastern Conference standings and took a step toward a second straight playoff berth.
“This game was obviously important because it’s the first one and you want to start well, and the fact that it was against Brooklyn, the team we are trying to beat for the seventh seed, is good,” Fournier said. “There’s just no other way to say it. It’s good.”
Jonathan Isaac posted 16 points, Khem Birch had 12, D.J. Augustin had 11 and Aaron Gordon had 10 for Orlando, which improved to 3-0 this season against Brooklyn. Gordon also had 11 rebounds.
Timothe Luwawu Cabarrot finished with 24 points and Caris LeVert had 17 points to lead the Nets.
Isaac and Markelle Fultz did not start but saw their playing time increase as coach Steve Clifford indicated they would. Isaac checked out with after playing 16 minutes and 29 seconds while Fultz posted eight points, six assists and a steal in nearly 19 minutes on the floor.
Both made their restart debuts during Monday’s scrimmage finale, with Isaac playing 7 minutes and Fultz playing just under 9 minutes. It was Isaac’s first game in nearly seven months as he was recovering from a knee injury.
The combination of LeVert and Jarrett Allen gave the Magic trouble early in the pick-and-roll game. LeVert also consistently maneuvered into the paint for easy shots or dump-offs to Allen deep in the lane. Allen finished the first quarter with 10 points.
But the Magic kept their poise and began to make progress after they cleaned up their defensive coverages, slowed LeVert’s penetration and let their offense take over.
“We just had to gather ourselves a little bit, organize ourselves defensively, which I thought we did as the game went. Once we figured out our defense and gOt stops consistently, we were able to get back in the game,” Vucevic said. “I thought it was a good response from us. We didn’t panic and took our time.”
The Magic were beginning to gain momentum before the season was suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic, and they came to the restart feeling like they are a playoff team.
After the first quarter, they played like one.
“We got off to a bad start on defense and yet I thought we responded well to that,” Clifford said. “Second
and third quarters we were balanced. We played inside-out, good energy, shot-making on offense and our defense was much better.”
Fournier’s play, in particular, was indicative of the Magic’s overall offensive performance. He showed his versatility as he found ways to score from all points of the floor. Fournier hit 10 of 15 shots overall and was 3 of 6 from the 3-point line.
“Just being able to be efficient tonight, win and have good offense, it felt good,” Fournier said.
Fournier scored 19 points total in the second and third quarters when Orlando outscored Brooklyn 75-43.
Vucevic also helped spark the offense. In one sequence, Vucevic delivered a touch pass to Fournier, who ran to open space along the baseline, rose up and buried an 18-foot jumper.
On an earlier possession, a solid screen by Vucevic freed up Gordon on a curl near the top of the key and Gordon repaid his teammate by knocking down an 18-foot jump shot.
The Magic shot 52.9% from the field and registered 31 assists.
Orlando set a seasonhigh for first-quarter points with 36 but found itself down by three after Brooklyn posted its own seasonhigh (39).
The Magic, who trailed by as many as eight points at one time in the first half, began to surge late in the second quarter as they built a 11-point halftime lead.
When Fournier sank a 3 at the 8:45 mark of the third quarter, it gave the Magic an 82-63 lead and capped a 24-8 run over a 6:26 stretch that covered the second and third quarters.
Orlando continued to push from there as its lead reached as many as 26 points in the third quarter. The Magic built a 30-point lead in the fourth quarter before the Nets cut into the lead with a 16-0 run late and Clifford reluctantly put his starting five back in to close out the win.
“There’s no time to dwell on it,” he said of the lategame struggles. “There’s seven games left in the season. It was an important win and now it’s [go] learn from this tomorrow and try to play better against Sacramento.”
The Magic resume play Sunday when they face the Sacramento Kings at 6 p.m. The game will air on Fox Sports Florida.
Email Roy Parry at rparry@orlandosentinel.com.