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The Orlando Magic suffered their 15th consecutive road defeat Sunday night against the Toronto Raptors, 105-90, as they failed to contain Toronto's offense in the second half. After intermission, the Raptors converted 65.5 percent of their shots, a scorching figure which few teams could hope to match. That Orlando didn't have Arron Afflalo, its leading scorer, available due to an injury added another degree of difficulty to that task.
Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry scored 17 of his 28 points in the third quarter as the Raptors broke the game open. Overall, he added four rebounds and six assists to his scoring. All-Star swingman DeMar DeRozan scored an atypically efficient 24 of his own.
Tobias Harris led the Magic with a season-high-tying 28 points and six rebounds, bedeviling Toronto with his ability to create for himself off the bounce. E'Twaun Moore added 16 points off the bench, aiding a Magic team which got precious little perimeter scoring elsewhere: Jameer Nelson surpassed Shaquille O'Neal on the Magic's all-time scoring list, but otherwise had a forgettable night, going 4-of-9 for nine points. Victor Oladipo, who flanked Nelson in the Magic's staring backcourt, didn't at all resemble dynamo who made history on Friday, going 4-of-13 himself for 11 points and failing to make a significant impact at either end of the floor.
The first quarter offered a preview of Orlando's offensive struggles to come, with Harris going 5-of-6 from the floor for 10 of the team's 14 points. His teammates went 2-of-14. In part due to the Raptors' butterfingers--the hosts committed seven turnovers--the Magic trailed by five after the first quarter despite their poor shooting.
Toronto led by three points at halftime, but took command behind DeRozan and Terrence Ross in the third quarter, using a 16-5 run to take a 15-point lead with 6:12 to play. Lowry's triple at the third-quarter buzzer put an exclamation point on the period and returned the lead to 15, its largest of the night.
The Magic, with their offense apart from Harris floundering, never drew to within single digits the rest of the way.