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Orlando trailed 55-41 at the break following a sloppy first half. The Magic made just 16 of 47 shots (34 percent) and hit only one of seven tries from 3-point range. And defensively, the Magic were gashed by Carlos Delfino (11 points) and Kevin Martin (11 points) in the first half.
Houston started the second quarter with a 13-1 run and ended it with another 11-1 spurt to break the game open. The Magic missed their first nine shots of the second quarter and hit only five of 25 tries in the period.
``I think the most glaring weakness that we showed was transition defense. Make or miss they were able to get the ball up the floor and create scoring opportunities,’’ Vaughn said. ``I would say overall it was just sub-par effort in transition defense for us tonight.’’
There were so many misses in the first half that Vucevic grabbed 14 boards in the first half. Five rebounds came off the offensive glass. The 14 rebounds were one more than his previous career high set last season while playing for the Philadelphia 76ers.
``My goal every night is to rebound the ball,’’ said Vucevic, the likely starter at center on Opening Night with Gustavo Ayon out two weeks with a sprained thumb. ``Rebounding has to be my main thing. I’m the biggest guy on our team, so it’s my job to rebound.’’
Vaughn stretched out the minutes somewhat for Afflalo, playing him the first seven minutes of the game. The plan was to play the veteran shooting guard in longer bursts after keeping him to four and five-minute stretches in his first game back from a hamstring strain on Wednesday.
Afflalo had a step-back jumper for his first basket at the Amway Center as a member of the Magic. Then, following a transition 3-pointer off a feed from Hedo Turkoglu, Afflalo blew past Carlos Delfino off the dribble and converted a nifty reserve layup in traffic.
Now, mercifully, the preseason is finally over and the Magic can turn their focus to the games that matter. Vaughn said the week ahead will be an important one for a Magic team that needs to clean up some defensive flaws and some offensive inefficiency. On Friday, against the Nuggets, wins and losses will count and the Magic’s main rotation will see the bulk of the minutes.
``I like where we are as a team and our chemistry is still growing every day,’’ Davis said. ``We’re mixing the older guys and the young guys and it’s going to take us some time. We just have to keep talking things out. We’ll get on the same page and get it right.’’ John Denton writes for OrlandoMagic.com. John has covered the Magic since 1997. E-mail John at jdenton@orlandomagic.com or follow him on Twitter at @JohnDenton555. ORLANDOMAGIC.COM FEATURES: Davis Resembling True Leader | Turk Eager to Prove Critics Wrong Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Magic and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
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