Fournier out due to injury

SALT LAKE CITY — The Orlando Magic will be without their leading scorer, for the foreseeable future.

Fournier aggravated the same right-heel bruise that forced him to miss five consecutive games from Dec. 23-Jan. 2, and he did not play when the Magic faced the Utah Jazz on Saturday night at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Although there is no timetable for Fournier’s return, it seems highly unlikely that he will play in either of the remaining games on the Magic’s road trip, which ends on Wednesday.

“I was compensating a lot, so now it’s more than just the heel,” Fournier said. “It’s just the bottom of the foot, period. It’s frustrating, man. I could probably keep playing like this, but it’s not getting any better and I’m playing [at] like 60 percent [of my ability].”

Fournier’s recent struggles were obvious to anyone who watched him play from Jan. 4 through Friday night’s win in Portland. He appeared reluctant to plant on his heel and often kept his weight on the ball of his right foot.

The injury impacted his performance. In his last five games, Fournier made only 36.1 percent of his shots and just 29.4 percent of his 3-point tries.

“I thought he was moving pretty well,” coach

said. “But some of the [assistant] coaches mentioned that they felt like he was not moving as well.”

Jodie Meeks started in Fournier’s place Saturday night, and Fournier’s absence also could result in more minutes for and

Fournier suffered from a right-heel bruise during the 2014-15 season, his first season with the Magic. He only missed one game.

Now, the uncertainty about the length of this absence gnaws at him.

“You know,” Fournier said, “every time I have an injury it’s always complicated, man. It can never be, ‘OK, in 10 days, you’re going to be better. It’s always a day-to-day thing, see how it feels and go from there.’ That’s probably the most frustrating thing as a player: not knowing what’s ahead of you.”

Augustin and Meeks made significant contributions to help the Magic defeat the Trail Blazers 115-109 Friday night.

But their coach made a difference, too.

With his team mired in a four-game losing streak, Vogel set a tone for victory on Thursday, when he held a light workout that included shooting games instead of an arduous practice.

“He did try to kind of keep a positive energy with the shooting games and different stuff,” Vucevic said. “I think those things can help, especially when you have a tough stretch when you’re not playing great basketball and guys get down. I think those things can help. I think he did a good job with that. I think that was important for us to kind of get back in a positive groove.”

The practice kept the Magic loose — as loose as possible for a team that had lost six of its previous seven games.

Did Vogel sense team felt tight?

“I got a sense that was feeling tight,” Vogel answered. “And I was feeling a little bit of misery surrounded by all the losses. It’s not the way out. You have to just appreciate each other and appreciate the opportunity we have and enjoy the challenge. It’s the game of basketball. It’s meant to be fun. Win or lose, you go out and you compete, and, hopefully,

Ihis our guys heard that message.”

But Vogel did more than that.

At least one of his X’sand-O’s decisions paid dividends. With the score tied 90-90 and the game starting to slip from Orlando’s grasp, Vogel brought his entire starting frontcourt of

and Vucevic in off the bench.

It was a bit early to do that.

But they gave the team the boost it needed.

Vogel felt like he left Gordon, Ibaka and Vucevic on the bench too long during the first half — that their absence contributed to a Trail Blazers comeback from down 20-3.

“I really secondguessed myself for not coming back to them sooner in the second quarter,” Vogel said.

Ibaka, for instance, was subbed out when he picked up his second foul with 6:13 remaining in the first quarter and Orlando ahead 20-7. Vogel didn’t put Ibaka back in until 4:11 remained in the second quarter. By that time, Orlando led only 50-47.

Vogel didn’t make same mistake twice.

He took a bit of a gamble in the fourth quarter, but his hunch paid off. the