Magic 92, Nets 88: Andrew Nicholson Shines in Magic Debut

Orlando Magic’s newly drafted power forward Andrew Nicholson guided his teammates to the win as they faced the Brooklyn Nets on the first day of the AirTran Orlando Pro Summer League, 92-88.

In a game where Orlando led by as much as 22 points, Brooklyn commanded the second half by outscoring the Magic in both the third and fourth quarters. The Nets tied up the ball game at 86 apiece when rookie guard Tyshawn Taylor shot a three-pointer with 45.8 seconds left.

Canadian-native Nicholson however picked the Nets' defense apart with a right-handed hook shot that included an and-one around the 29.7 mark to give the Magic a three point lead.

Nicholson dominated on both ends of the floor with a game-high 24 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots. He also sunk in eight of 12 attempts from the free-throw line.

The Magic controlled the first half of the game on a 17-point lead by playing staunch defense while enabling their offense to flow through their front court consisting of sophomore small forward Justin Harper who aggressively scored all 15 of his points in the first half while knocking down two triples including rookie center Kyle O’Quinn who chipped in 16 points from shooting eight of 10 from the field.

Orlando will play their second game tomorrow at 3 pm against the Detroit Pistons featuring first round pick/rookie center Andre Drummond.