Clippers bust it open late, hammer Magic 114-90

Following two games on the road, the Orlando Magic returned home for a pitstop against the Los Angeles Clippers before heading back on the road for a bout on Friday night against the Charlotte Hornets. The Magic suffered their worst loss of the early season, falling 114-90 on Wednesday night.

In the first quarter, the Clippers started quickly, jumping out to an 18-9 lead halfway through the quarter. Orlando clawed their way back into it, however, on the shoulders of Nikola Vucevic's big quarter. Vucevic came a rebound shy of notching his ninth double-double in just 12 minutes, scoring 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds. A trio of Clippers, led by Chris Paul, finished with six in the quarter. While he didn't score, DeAndre Jordan wrecked havoc, grabbing seven rebounds and blocking a pair of shots in the quarter.

After a strong first quarter offensively, the Clippers continued their torrid pace, scoring 30 points in the quarter. Much like the opening 12 minutes, the Magic struggled shooting the ball, but were able to keep the game within striking distance, thanks in large part to their free throw shooting. The Magic knocked down 7-of-8 from the line in the second quarter, and 8-of-9 in the opening half total. Vucevic continued to lead the Magic, getting up to 15 points and 13 rebounds, while Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford did much of the damage for the Clippers, scoring 12 a piece.

Out of halftime, the Magic's struggles continued. They were unable to get stops on the defensive end, and were unable to find any flow to their game of the offensive end, relying on Tobias Harris' big quarter to give them even the slightest of chances going into the fourth quarter. Harris scored 11 of Orlando's 20 in the quarter, with Victor Oladipo and Vucevic scoring the other nine. Paul, Crawford and Griffin combined for 24 of the Clippers 28 in the quarter.

With the Clippers holding a 16 point lead going into the quarter, things looked bleak for the Magic. They were unable to cut into the deficit, falling behind by a season high 28 at one point.

The Clippers were led by Crawford, who finished with a team high 22 points. Griffin, after a slow start, finished with 20, with Paul following closely with 16. Former Magic man Matt Barnes had a season high 13 points, with Jordan Farmar scoring 13 of his own off the bench. Spencer Hawes rounded out the Clippers in double figures, finishing with 10.

Orlando's miserable night was headlined by Harris' 25. Vucevic, after a big open quarter, finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season. Channing Frye and Andrew Nicholson rounded out the Magic men in double figures, finishing with 10 each.