Toronto Raptors 109 Orlando Magic 79: Magic disappear in second half

Coming off a much needed win at home against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night, the Orlando Magic looked to continue their offensive surge against the Toronto Raptors. After a strong start, the Magic crumbled in the second half, falling to the Raptors 109-79.

Despite four early turnovers, the Magic offense came out firing early against a struggling Raptors defense. The Magic, led by Evan Fournier and Nikola Vucevic, shot 56.5 percent in the quarter, getting to the basket at will, finishing with 18 points in the painted area in the quarter. While the defense gave up 14 points to All-Star DeMar DeRozan, they were able to hold the rest of the Raptors to 3-10 shooting, playing some of their better defense of the past two weeks. After one, the Magic found themselves up against one of the Eastern Conference’s best, 30-23.

After a strong first quarter, things began coming apart for the Magic in the second. Their struggles to take care of the ball plagued them in a big way, with the Raptors turning four Magic mistakes into 10 points. Toronto also began heating up from beyond the arc, knocking down four three-pointers in the quarter. With the Magic’s struggles on both end, and the Raptors finding their legs, the visitors rallied to take a four point lead, 55-51, into halftime.

Down just four at the half, the wheels completely fell off for the Magic in the third quarter. Toronto opened the half on a 10-0 run, and the Magic offense was never able to rebound, running little action throughout the entire quarter. The Magic struggled to defend without fouling, or keep the Raptors out of the paint, paving the way for Toronto to shoot 11-17 in the quarter. Thanks to their lackluster 13 point quarter, the Magic found themselves completely out of contention, trailing by 20, 84-64, heading to the fourth.

With the game out of hand, there wasn’t much for the Magic to play for. Frank Vogel turned to the end of the bench, including Mario Hezonja and Arinze Onuaku. The Magic continued to miss shots, letting the Raptors cruise big.

DeRozan led all scorers, finishing with 31. Jonas Valanciunas finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds, with Kyle Lowry adding 16 of his own. Terrence Ross added 11, on the night as well.

Evan Fournier led the Magic with 15. Elfrid Payton scored 13, with Serge Ibaka and Nikola Vucevic each scoring 10.