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Magic's Frontline Comes Up Big in Win Over Celtics

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

By John DentonDec. 23, 2014

ORLANDO – An Orlando Magic team desperate for some cheer and a win of any kind got an early Christmas present on Tuesday night – a run-away start and a feel-good finish that produced a nerve-wracking win against the rebuilding Boston Celtics.

Orlando led by 10 before Boston had its first field goal, by 15 points after one period and by as much as 27 points early in the fourth quarter – much to the delight of 17,489 fans at the Amway Center.

But, as has been the case quite often of late, nothing would come easy for the Magic. Orlando’s extremely wobbly play in the fourth quarter, combined with new Boston point guard Jameer Nelson trying to ruin his former team’s holiday, made it an uncomfortably and unexpectedly tight game down the stretch. Ultimately, the Magic had enough left in the tank to escape with a 100-95 defeat of Boston that provided a brief bit of relief.

``(Tuesday) night we will (enjoy the victory), but tomorrow it’s back to the drawing board because we let this one slip, so we can’t enjoy it too much,’’ said power forward Kyle O’Quyinn, who had 18 points, 13 rebounds and hit four free throws in the final two minutes to help Orlando hold on.

The Magic (11-20) won despite getting outscored 35-15 in the fourth quarter. Over the final 12 minutes, Orlando hit just three of 15 shots, turned the ball over five times and missed eight free throws – actions that led to a 27-point bulge remarkably morphing into a tense game over the final 2 minutes.

``That’s a tough way that it ended, but we came out with a `W.’ We’ve just got to watch film and take the positives and the negatives and see why they were able to get back in the game and learn from it,’’ said Magic guard Victor Oladipo, who struggled through a two of 15 shooting night.

Orlando snapped a four-game losing streak and got rid of the lingering bitterness from losing to the last-place Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night. The Magic never trailed on Tuesday, but they did let a lead that swelled to as much as 27 shrink to three points with 2:34 to play – something that kept head coach Jacque Vaughn up out of his seat and barking orders along the sideline.

Rather than focus on the fourth-quarter falterings, Vaughn chose to point to the positives that helped the Magic build their big lead. And when they had to have it – absolutely had to have it to avoid a complete collapse – the Magic got a driving shot from Tobias Harris, key rebounds from Nikola Vucevic and O’Quinn’s free throws.

``I told the guys, `They deserved to win,’ but at the same time we were a little bit cautious and lucky at the end of the game,’’ Vaughn said. ``But overall, we’ll take the win. … We continue to address (handling adversity), but I thought we showed poise at the end of the game. I look at the improvement, but also the reality of the discipline that we need to be able to maintain a 20-point lead.’’

Up five points, Orlando caught a huge break with 2 minutes to play when Boston’s Kelly Olynyk attempted a 3-pointer, but was whistled for an offensive foul after pulling O’Quinn down onto him in an attempt to deceive the referees. Vucevic accidentally tipped the ball into Boston’s goal on the play, but it was wiped off because of the offensive foul. Also, O’Quinn hit the two free throws to give Orlando some breathing room.

The Magic came into Tuesday having lost six of their past seven games and in search of something to get them back on the right track. They found it in the form of a focused and gritty effort on both ends of the floor for three quarters and a foe in the Celtics (10-16) who are still learning to play with one another following the trading of all-star Rajon Rondo last week.

``Sometimes you lose this game, but luckily we came out on top,’’ Vaughn said. ``(The late struggles) have already been addressed after the game and we’ll go from there. It’s a learning process of being in those situations and realizing you can still lose this game. That focus (late), that’s the discipline we’ve been talking about. It’s sinking in. At the rate that I want it to? No, but we’ll continue to press on, though.’’

Vucevic had 18 points and 12 rebounds, while O’Quinn played well in his second game as a starter since Vaughn made changes to the lineup. Harris (19 points) and Elfrid Payton (12 points and seven assists) did most of their damage in the first half when Orlando stormed to a seemingly safe 53-30 lead at intermission.

Nelson, one of just two players ever to wear a Magic uniform for 10 seasons, was shipped from Dallas to Boston last week in the Rondo trade. He played 30 minutes and had nine points and 11 assists – most of them (seven points and nine assists) coming in the second half when he refused to let his former Magic teammates enjoy an easy victory. Nelson barked at the Magic bench to call for timeout after Olynyk drilled the 3-pointer with 2:33 to play to cut the score to 80-87.

Nelson, Orlando’s all-time leader in assists, had a nifty behind-the-back pass to Brandon Wright for a layup that cut Orlando’s lead to 10 points. After the game, Nelson hugged Vaughn and several of the Magic players.

``I was just chirping at them and having fun. It’s a fun game out there and you get emotional out there and it was nothing personal,’’ said Nelson, who mockingly motioned for timeout toward the Magic bench. ``I really like all of the guys there. I like all of the coaches. They are great guys and they called timeout.’’

Tuesday’s result looked nothing like when the two teams met six days earlier in Boston, a game that ended up with the Celtics pulling away for a 108-92 victory. Of course, that game featured all-star point guard Rajon Rondo, who was traded to Dallas a day later.

Nelson, who signed with Dallas after being waived by Orlando on June 30, was shipped from Dallas to Boston in the Rondo trade. Nelson, Orlando’s all-time leader in assists and second all-time in games played, was cheered in the pregame introductions and he acknowledged the fans when he was given a standing ovation following a video tribute on the JumboTron.

``This is my job and I can’t get caught up too much on what is going on,’’ Nelson said of his emotions when the video tribute was playing. ``I appreciate everything the organization, the City (of Orlando) and the DeVos family have done for my family and myself. The city and organization holds a special place in my heart.’’

Avery Bradley chipped in 20 points for the Celtics, while Tyler Zeller added 22 points and 10 rebounds.

Having played more games (31) and still more road games (19) than any team in the NBA, Orlando won’t have to play games on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. The Magic will practice on Wednesday to prepare for Friday’s home game against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the team will be off on Christmas Day. James will make his return to Miami – the franchise he led to two titles and four straight Finals berths – on Thursday before playing in Orlando on Friday.

Up 23 at the half, the Magic came out somewhat sloppy and Vaughn wasted no time in calling an angry timeout 33 seconds into the third quarter. Orlando’s lead shrank to as small as 18 points handed out four assists in the third period. And when Nelson ripped the ball away from Payton and scored on the other end Boston was within 71-53.

Unlike in the past week, the Magic responded favorably to the adversity. They closed the third quarter strong and took a comfortable 85-60 edge into the final 12 minutes.

Then, disaster nearly hit the Magic again. After the Orlando lead swelled to 87-60, Boston scored the game’s next 12 points – 10 of them coming on assists or shots by Nelson. Following a Channing Frye 3, Boston used another 15-0 spurt to make it a one-possession game at 90-87

Harris steadied the listing Magic with his 10-foot fade-away jumper in the lane.

``I thought it was a big shot,’’ said Harris, who also chipped in three 3-pointers, four rebounds and three assists. ``We missed some free throws and they made some good shots. But I thought that was a good shot for me. Coach (Vaughn) drew up the play and it was a good play. We responded off it.’’

Motivated by its poor play of late, Orlando came out locked in and aggressive from the start and it led 53-30 at the intermission. The Magic stormed to a 26-9 edge – their first lead at the end of a first quarter in nine games – and they were ahead 40-15 just 16 minutes into the game. During a 12-4 burst in the second quarter, Ben Gordon had four baskets – the final one after Boston coach Brad Stevens told rookie Marcus Smart to switch onto him defensively.

Of course, it helped that the rebuilding and retooled Celtics were dreadful in the first half. The Celtics missed their first 10 shots of the game and 16 of their first 17 tries. And by the time Boston hit its fourth field goal, it already trailed 34-15. Orlando’s defense helped Boston set season lows for points in a quarter (nine) and a half (30). The Celtics’ 30-point first half easily was the fewest allowed in a half this season by the Magic, eclipsing the previous low of 36.

So there were plenty of positives for the Magic, but most of them were overshadowed by a fourth quarter where Orlando wheezed its way across the finish line.

``You can see when we stick to our principles, that’s how we are as a team,’’ Harris said of Orlando’s early-game success. ``But it’s something that we can’t get content with. We have to learn to build off what we were doing.’’

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