Clifford seeks better finish
PHILADELPHIA — Orlando Magic coach Steve Clifford was not pleased Saturday night after watching his squad somewhat unravel in the final 14 seconds at Philadelphia, fumbling an opportunity to knock off the 76ers and falling 116-115.
It was just the third game of the season, but the first-year Magic coach was obviously irritated after back-to-back losses, the first of which was a Friday night blowout at the hands of his former team, the Charlotte Hornets, at Amway Center.
Clifford made time in Philly for one question after the game and then left in a huff as the team headed toward the doors of the Wells Fargo Center to catch a plane for Boston, where the Magic will face the Celtics on Monday at 7:30 p.m.
“We played better. We should have won the game. We defended the whole game, but we had two huge mistakes. You can’t make those mistakes on the road against a good team. So whatever, we played better, but that’s not what this thing’s about,” Clifford said. “There’s a game right there that was meant to be won with plays to be made, but you have to make them.”
Three games into his inaugural Magic season and the top man was already frustrated by his young team. The Magic had their moments against the 76ers, who are the trendy pick by many to win the NBA’s Eastern Conference this season. The other two favorites in the East are the Toronto Raptors and the Celtics.
Orlando did have its share of bright spots Saturday against the Sixers, and one might figure that a young, rebuilding team could find some positives out of being able to keep pace with one of the top dogs in the East. But there was no talk of that in the locker room afterward.
The coach wasn’t only one frustrated.
“After Terrence’s shot, we all felt like, ‘[expletive], we got it. We got this, all we need to do now is execute,’ ” Evan Fournier said of Terrence Ross’ desperation 42-foot 3-pointer that not only beat the shot clock with 1:24 left in the game but also gave Orlando the lead after it had squandered a 16-point first-quarter advantage. “It’s hard because after a disappointing game [Friday] night, winning would have been great for us, but it shows we need to do better.”
Fournier had 31 points and finally found a remedy for his shooting woes, Nikola Vucevic had his second-career triple-double with 27 points, 13 rebounds and a career-high 12 assists, and Aaron Gordon added 20 points and 12 rebounds.
No one, however, was about to celebrate any personal achievements.
“I personally made a couple of mistakes. I could have done some things better to help us win that game,” Gordon said. “It’s just disappointing that I wasn’t better down the stretch of the game.”
Vucevic offered the similar sentiments.
“It’s very disappointing to fight. We were down and came back with a couple plays and tied the game. We did the stuff that we talked about pregame earlier [Saturday] in the meeting. We made mistakes,” he said. “Obviously, we lost by one, so maybe if we would have taken care of a few of those things, there would have been a different outcome.”
The Magic had much better ball movement Saturday and had 31 assists on 41 made baskets. Point guard D.J. Augustin had nine assists to follow Vooch’s 12.
“That’s always my mindset, to play the right way, read the game and see who’s open. If I have a shot, I have a shot. If not, I try to make the right play for others,” Vucevic said. “Early in the first half tonight I had a couple back cuts, a couple cuts from guys. They were the really doing a good job of cutting off me, playing off me and I was able to find them.
“We needed that to get the ball moving and get some good looks, and tonight we had a lot of guys involved, a lot of guys who scored, and that’s why we were able to stay in the game.”
The Magic hit 16 of 29 3-pointers and used more of an inside-out game that Clifford prefers with this Orlando personnel.
The Magic face a Celtics team that has started 2-1, losing to the Raptors on Friday 113-101. Boston defeated the 76ers in the opener and escaped with a 103-101 victory at the New York Knicks on Saturday.
NOTES: Magic forward Jonathon Simmons missed the game at Philadelphia due to a personal matter and was expected to rejoin the team in Boston on Sunday. … With the nine points Saturday night, Augustin surpassed the 7,000-point plateau for his career and he now had 7,002 points. This is the 30-year-old point guard’s 11th NBA season.