With Vucevic back, Orlando outrebounded Charlotte (10-12) 52-41 and grabbed 14 offensive boards. In the previous four games with Vucevic out, the Magic had been outrebounded by 70 boards – the largest four-game rebounding deficit in the 25-year history of the franchise.
Glen ``Big Baby’’ Davis had 17 points and 12 rebounds and two big shots at the ends of the second and third quarters. Arron Afflalo and Nelson shook off slow starts to finish with 16 and 17 points respectively.
``We needed this, big-time,’’ Davis said. ``We’re a good team, but we’ve all just got to be healthy. Look at what Nik did out there today and we’ve been missing that. He loosens things up for me, definitely. Him being a factor out there people have to guard him and he’s going to get rebounds. And Jameer played great hitting big shots. That’s our team – minutes Tobias (Harris).’’
Victor Oladipo, E’Twaun Moore and Andrew Nicholson added 10 points each for the Magic.
``To have seven guys in double figures and to give the effort on the other end of the floor was pretty nice to see,’’ Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said of Orlando’s defense. ``We talk about not skipping steps and that’s what this thing is about for us. You come with an approach of fighting and give what you have that day. It was good to see our guys rally around each other.’’
Wednesday’s game finally brought an end to the longest road trip in Magic history. The six-game trip over all or part of 12 days took the Magic to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York, Houston, Memphis and Charlotte. The Magic flew the final 525 miles home on Wednesday to complete the trip.
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