By John Denton
Jan. 10, 2015
PORTLAND – Down two top scoring options, down as much as 19 points in the first half and seemingly down to their last breaths, the Orlando Magic rose up off the mat time and again Saturday with a resilience that should restore some of the confidence in the team’s promise.
The road-weary and short-handed had little business being in Saturday’s night game against the high-powered Portland Trail Blazers, but there they were knotted at 85 with 4:12 left in the game. And the gritty Magic were doing so despite being without leading scorer Tobias Harris and top reserve Evan Fournier.
Orlando rode a career-best performance from standout center Nikola Vucevic and some stellar contributions from several role players to put a scare into the Blazers. But when the Magic ultimately ran out of gas, they had to try and find the positives in a 103-92 loss against a Portland team that is among the elite squads in the NBA.
``It’s tough when you lose a lot of games lately, but you always want to find something (positive) out of a loss,’’ Vucevic said. ``Obviously we want to win, but if you compare the game from (Friday) night to tonight, you see that tonight we played with each other and we played hard and we gave ourselves a chance to win. You have to learn lessons from every game and these back-to-back games are a great lesson. The approach to every game has to be very important for us.’’
The Magic (13-27) lost for a sixth straight time, but this defeat felt nothing like the previous five considering the heart and hustle that they played with throughout the game. Orlando kept fighting even though it fell behind 39-20 early in the game – something that had to be encouraging to a coaching staff that was seeking some sort of fight out of the squad.
``I think overall we did some good things throughout the course of the night. We took an early punch from them, but responded and gave ourselves a chance,’’ Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. ``We just stayed the course. Everyone knows that it’s a long NBA game. We continued to put ourselves in a position to find success and keep rooting for each other.’’
Vucevic, an all-star hopeful for the Magic, carried his team all night by scoring 34 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. He made 15 of 23 shots and four of six free throws to top his previous career high of 33 points set last month at the Amway Center against the Miami Heat.
``Vucevic had a terrific game. I think he showed why he’s one of the up-and-coming big men in the league,’’ Portland coach Terry Stotts said.
Vucevic tied the game at 85 with two free throws with 4:12 to play, but that’s when Portland flexed its considerable muscle to grab control. Four free throws by Wesley Matthews (18 points) and Damian Lillard (16 points) and an acrobatic layup by Matthews gave Portland a lead it would not surrender.
Victor Oladipo chipped in 18 points for the Magic, but he made just six of 21 shots. Veteran power forward Channing Frye got the start in place of the struggling Kyle O’Quinn, but he missed nine of 10 shots and seven of eight 3-point shots.
``I was off balance on a couple of them and some were just in and out. I’m not going to take (shots) home with me, so I just have to continue to shoot them,’’ Frye said. ``I just have to go in the gym. I thought my shots were pretty (dang) good. I attacked the rim a couple of times. We played a little faster today with different groups, so it’s going to come. Don’t worry about me. I’m the last person to worry about. I’m going to get into a rhythm quick.’’
The Magic were playing their second game in as many nights after losing 101-84 in frustrating fashion to the woeful Los Angeles Lakers. Orlando’s players didn’t get into their hotel rooms until 2 a.m. and they were playing their NBA-most 24th road game on Saturday.
Portland, owners of a comfortable lead in the Northwest Division, won at home for an 18th time – the most in the NBA. Whereas Orlando has had to play 24 road games so far, the Blazers have been on the road for just 16 games.
LaMarcus Aldridge led the Blazers with 25 points and six rebounds.
Orlando was without leading scorer Tobias Harris and top reserve Evan Fournier because of ankle and knee sprains. Harris rolled his ankle on Friday when he slipped on a wet spot, but he continued to play through the game. Fournier hurt his knee early in the game, but played through the pain. Both players are hopeful that by skipping Saturday’s game and resting on Sunday’s off day that they will be able to play on Monday. The Magic conclude their four-game trip in Chicago against the Bulls on Monday.
With two key players out, the Magic had to look for different alternatives on Saturday. Devyn Marble, a second-round draft pick who was in the NBA Development League two weeks ago, got the first start of his professional career. Seldom-used small forward Maurice Harkless got 19 minutes of playing time and converted two thunderous dunks for his four points. Marble had six points, five steals and three rebounds in almost 25 minutes.
``It was more like anxiety to get the game going. I’m not a real nervous person, but I just wanted to go and play,’’ Marble said. ``It’s basketball. Once the ball went up and I got up and down the court a few times, I was fine.’’
Within five points of Portland at halftime, the Magic kept their momentum going in the third quarter and shockingly took a 50-48 lead on a Vucevic jumper. An Orlando team that hit just five of 22 shots in the first period made half their shots in the second (12 of 24) and third quarters (13 of 26).
Dominant in the first half, Vucevic stayed in attack mode in the third period and continued to hand it to Chris Kaman and Meyers Leonard. Mixing in face-up jumpers and hooks in the post, Vucevic scored 13 third-quarter points by hitting six of 11 shots. His solid play had Orlando within 72-70 by the start of the fourth quarter.
``I just wanted to come out aggressive and have a better performance than last night,’’ said Vucevic, who had 14 points a night earlier in Los Angeles. ``I didn’t play very well (Friday) night and the team didn’t play very well, so our guys wanted to come out tonight and show a better performance and I think we did that – against one of the best teams in the league – we played them all the way to the end.’’
Once down as much as 19 points and seemingly dead in the water, Orlando played some resilient and gritty basketball in the second quarter to get back within 46-41 by intermission. The Magic closed the first half with a 12-2 run sparked by the dazzling play of Vucevic and Oladipo.
The Magic missed 15 of their first 18 shots and 21 of 28 to start the game, but they came alive over the final six minutes of the second quarter. The Magic’s rally started with a Ben Gordon 3-pointer and then Luke Ridnour chucked in a 32-foot 3-pointer as the shot clock expired. Ridnour’s basket drew chants of ``LUUUUUUUKKKEEE,’’ from the many University of Oregon fans in the crowd.
From there, Vucevic and Oladipo breathed life into the Orlando offense with a stretch where they combined to score 16 straight points for the Magic. Vucevic broke out of a mini-slump by being extremely aggressive early in the first half and seeking out shots. In the first half alone, he made seven of nine shots, scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds – four of those boards off the offensive glass. The double-double by halftime gave Vucevic his 22nd double-double of the season – the most in the NBA just ahead of Anthony Davis (21) and John Wall (21).
``I like the fact that we responded after being down early on,’’ Vucevic said. ``We couldn’t come out with the win, but we stayed within the game all the way to the end.’’
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