Balanced effort helps Magic cool the Suns in Phoenix, 93-90

After dropping the first game of their six game road trip, the Orlando Magic headed out west for a meeting with the Phoenix Suns. The Magic, who came in losers of four straight, proved to be too much, as they walked away with a 93-90 win. The win was their first on the road against a Western conference team since March 4th, 2013 against the New Orleans Hornets.

Contrary to the start of many games, the Magic's offense came out clicking on all cylinders. The Magic were crisp with the ball, finding good looks in the first few minutes of the game. While there was some stagnant play, the offense looked the best that it had in a handful of games. Orlando did a good job of forcing the Suns into turnovers, forcing six in the quarter, and had success off those turnovers, scoring nine points. Tobias Harris led all scorers with nine, with Goran Dragic leading the way for the Suns with eight in the opening 12 minutes.

Despite some sloppy play in the quarter, the Magic continued to look solid on the offensive end, and turned it on defensively in the second quarter. Orlando finished the second quarter on an 18-3 run, following an electrifying dunk from Gerald Green where he threw the ball off the backboard to himself. The Magic continued to force turnovers, forcing the Suns to cough it up seven times, leading to nine more points in the quarter. Harris' strong play continued, jumping up to 14 points in the half to continue to lead all scorers. Dragic also continued to lead the Suns, finishing with 13 in the opening half.

Out of halftime, the Magic had some of their usual third quarter struggles. They turned the ball over six times, but the Suns were unable to capitalize, scoring no points off of those turnovers. Elfrid Payton continued to spark the team, finding teammates on a couple of nice assists late in the quarter. After Phoenix cut the lead down to five, Orlando went on a modest 15-9 run to end the quarter. Harris continued to lead the Magic with 16, with Dragic right on his heels yet again, leading the Suns with 15.

With 12 minutes to go, things were looking good for the Magic. They were able to push the lead to as many as 15 with roughly half the quarter left. Then, things began to go downhill. A handful of sloppy plays led to turnovers, which helps the Suns fight and claw their way right back into it. The Magic coughed the ball up eight times, leading to 13 points for the Suns in the quarter. A three point trip by Markieff Morris cut the Magic lead down to three with under a minute left. But, Orlando found a way to hold the Suns at bay, notching their first win in over a week.

The Magic sported a balanced effort all night, led by Harris who finished with a team high 21 points and eight rebounds. Nikola Vucevic fell short of another double-double, but still had a solid night finishing with 18 points and eight assists. Evan Frounier was an efficient 5-of-8 from the field en route to 15 points, while Victor Oladipo finished with 12 points of his own. While Payton didn't score in double figures, he had a profound impact in other areas, finishing with seven points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Goran Dragic's game high 22 points led a group of five Suns in double figures. Morris finished with a double-double, notching 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Eric Bledsoe struggled from the field, shooting 5-of-14, but finished with 13 points. Miles Plumlee finished with 12, just three off his season high, with Gerald Green finishing with 11 off the bench.