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Less than 24 hours after another heartbreaking late loss, the Orlando Magic looked to bounce back in Brooklyn against the Nets. Despite a fast start, Brooklyn proved to be to much for the Magic, dominating the paint en route to a
Behind hot shooting from Nikola Vucevic, and Aaron Gordon, the Magic got off to a fast start, jumping out to an early 10 point lead. After a Nets timeout, however, the hosts began settling in, knocking down three-pointers left and right to cut into the Magic lead, and take the lead late in the quarter. Brooklyn attacked the Magic left and right, scoring 18 of their 31 first quarter points in the painted area, an issues the Magic have continued to face all season. Thanks to 24 combined points from Vucevic and Gordon, the Magic found themselves tied with the Nets at 31 after one.
Into the second quarter, the Magic continued to struggle with the high energy level the Nets were playing with. Time-after-time they were beat on the boards, and struggled to keep the Nets from getting to the basket at will, and getting the shots they wanted. The Magic struggled with turnovers in the first half, coughing it up nine times, and failing to beat the continued pressure from the Nets guards, aiding Brooklyn in their continued strong presence in the painted area. Despite shooting 50 percent from the field, the Magic trailed the Nets, who shot 51 percent from the field, by seven, 60-53.
Out of halftime, Vucevic once again got things going for the Magic, knocking down shot after shot to keep the Magic in it. As the quarter wore on, the Nets lead slowly began to fall, with Gordon’s second three of the quarter giving the Magic their first lead since early in the second quarter. Brooklyn kept things close, however, continuing to attack the Magic and get quality looks like they had throughout the majority of the game. Thanks to a 36 point quarter, the Magic found themselves tied up with the Nets at 89 heading into the final 12 minutes.
With the game tied heading into the fourth quarter, Brooklyn’s bench once again got going early in the quarter, led by red hot shooting from big man Trevor Booker. The Magic offense stalled in a big way early, not scoring their first bucket until three minutes into the quarter. While Elfrid Payton was able to get things going, the rest of the Magic men went cold, helping aid the Nets in taking home the victory.
Brook Lopez led the way for the Nets, finishing with 30 points on the night. Booker shot 11-12 on the night, finishing with 23 points off the bench. Sean Kilpatrick added 15, with Justin Hamilton adding 13 off the Brooklyn bench.
Vucevic led all Magic scorers, finishing with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Elfrid Payton notched his fifth triple-double of the season, finishing with 20 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Gordon continued his strong play, adding 22 points and 15 rebonds for another big double-double. Evan Fournier scored 20 of his own, with Jodie Meeks adding 11 off the bench.