The Magic topple
Magic have 1st winning record since November ’13
the Celtics 110-91 and have their first wining record in two years.
The last time the Orlando Magic held a winning record through 17 games of a season, the Magic employed a starting lineup of Jameer Nelson, Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu, Ryan Anderson and Dwight Howard.
That game took place on Jan. 24, 2012.
In subsequent seasons, the Magic crept above .500 on only a few occasions — and never this late in a season. That changed Sunday. Fueled by an improved defense, their opponent’s longrange shooting woes and balanced scoring, the Magic routed the Boston Celtics 110-91 at Amway Center.
With the win, the Magic upped their record to 9-8, the first time they’ve had a winning record since Nov. 8, 2013.
“We’ve got to stay humble,” point guard Elfrid Payton said. “We’ve got to stay hungry. It’s cool. We enjoyed it already when we brought it in after the game. That’s enough.”
Tougher tests loom in the near future.
On Tuesday, they’ll begin a
five-game road trip in which they’ll face the Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns.
“We’re on a nice uptick right now,” coach Scott Skiles said. “We’d like to keep it going. We’re hoping the guys are feeling good about themselves and confident. But you’re always just one game away from going the other direction as well. So we’ve got to keep it all in perspective.”
Victor Oladipo, Nik Vucevic, Tobias Harris, Andrew Nicholson and Aaron Gordon scored in double figures against the Celtics (9-8).
The Magic started the third quarter slowly, making a few mistakes, prompting Skiles to call a timeout.
Vucevic scored 10 of his 18 points and collected five of his 10 rebounds in the quarter as the Magic took control of the game.
The Celtics made just 41 percent of their shots and went just 5 for 27 from 3-point range.
Boston big man Jared Sullinger struggled most, scoring just three points.
“I thought they did an awfully good job on him,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “They made it really tough. They were challenging everything. They were very physical. They knocked us off our cuts. Not just Jared, but everybody.”
Coming off the bench for the third consecutive game, Oladipo provided a lift. In 30 minutes, he compiled a team-high 19 points, eight rebounds and a team-high six assists.
When the Celtics cut the lead to 12 points with 4:43 to play, Oladipo drove into the lane, drew a foul on Amir Johnson and made both free throws to halt Boston’s momentum.
The Magic won all three games on their homestand, beating the New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks and the Celtics.
As tipoff approached Sunday, Skiles said a key would be for his team to avoid turnovers.
The Celtics entered the night ranked first in the NBA in turnovers forced, and Skiles was concerned about his players losing the ball, especially in areas of the court that would enable the Celtics to score easy baskets in transition.
In the first quarter, Orlando turned the ball over eight times.
In the second quarter, however, Orlando turned the ball over just once.
The improved ball security helped the Magic gain some traction.
After a Boston threepoint play midway through the second quarter cut the Magic’s lead to 37-35, Oladipo squared his shoulders at the top of the arc, elevated for a jumper and sank a 3-pointer.
Just seconds later, Oladipo stole the ball from Isaiah Thomas.
Oladipo then attempted another 3-pointer. He missed the shot, but Vucevic gathered an offensive rebound and passed to Nicholson on the perimeter.
Nicholson faked a shot, prompting Boston’s Kelly Olynyk to leap into the air. Nicholson put the ball on the floor, drove to the hoop and finished the play with a thunderous dunk.
“He’s been huge,” Oladipo said. “Andrew does what Andrew does: score the ball in too many ways. He’s definitely effective for us, and when he’s playing like that, we’re really good.”
For now, at least, the Magic are as good as they’ve been in almost four years.