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2013 Southwest Orlando Pro Summer League: Oladipo Dazzles in Debut

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

By John DentonJuly 7, 2013

ORLANDO -- Victor Oladipo, the second overall pick of the NBA Draft, scored 18 points, grabbed six rebounds and handed out seven assists in his debut as the Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics 95-88 in first-day action of the Southwest Airlines Orlando Pro Summer League.

Splitting his time between shooting guard and point guard, Oladipo got off to a strong start with two early 3-pointers and then he closed the game with some stellar passing. He banked in a straight-on jump shot in the fourth quarter to put the Magic up 89-82. Then, his seventh assist of the game led to Kyle O’Quinn’s three-point play that secured the victory for the Magic (1-0).

Oladipo, college basketball’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year last season, also had five steals for the Magic. His only negatives were his six turnovers and a stretch where he missed five consecutive shots to start the second half.

Boston (0-1) outscored the Magic 26-22 in the first quarter and 29-23 in the third quarter, but it lost because of poor play in the fourth period. Rookie power forward Kelly Olynyk made seven of his first eight shots and scored 25 points in his Celtics debut.

The Magic pulled away in the fourth quarter when Doron Lamb buried a 3-pointer from the corner off a feed from Maurice Harkless. Both players were rookies last season for the Magic, and big things are expected of them in this week’s summer league play.

Harkless, who has boosted his weight to 222 pounds, played well in several phases with 15 points, eight rebounds and a 3-pointer. Lamb, who has dramatically improved his fitness level through the Magic’s offseason conditioning program, had 13 points and hit all three of his 3-pointers.

Magic assistant coach James Borrego credited second-round pick Romero Osby with changing his team’s intensity with his hustle throughout the game. Osby, an undersized power forward, made seven of eight shots, scored 18 points and grabbed five rebounds in 24 minutes.

Orlando led 47-42 at the half behind Oladipo’s strong start and some stellar all-around play from Harkless and Osby.

Oladipo opened the game by making two long 3-pointers and his nifty reverse layup in traffic gave him Orlando’s first eight points. He ended the first half with 14 points, four rebounds and four steals.

Oladipo started the game at shooting guard, but moved over to the point guard slot by the start of the second quarter. He had three assists and three turnovers in the first 20 minutes.

Harkless was active and playing confidently from the start. He scored nine points and buried a 3-pointer in the first half. Osby, Orlando’s second-round draft pick, registered a steal just seconds upon checking into his first-ever NBA game. He had eight points and two steals in the opening half to help the Magic rally in the second period after trailing by four after one quarter.