ORLANDO – In much the same fashion as last season, when they authored a stirring 22-9 closing kick and reached the playoffs, the Orlando Magic overwhelmed and ultimately outlasted a foe on Wednesday with a wide array of weapons and dynamic two-way players.
But what made Orlando’s 94-85 defeat of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the season opener feel totally new, fresh and spectacularly different was the thunderous arrival and performance of point guard Markelle Fultz.
As if he didn’t do enough to impress early in the game by making his first four shots in a Magic uniform, Fultz added to his breathtaking regular-season debut in Orlando with a second-half burst that included a no-look pass to Mo Bamba for a layup and another assist that resulted in a Nikola Vucevic dunk after he wrapped a pass around a Cleveland defender. All the night needed was a perfect capper and Fultz once again delivered, this time showing off all the reasons why he was the No. 1 pick of the 2017 NBA Draft by driving the length of the floor, splitting the defense and dunking with authority.
To the sellout crowd of 18,846 jammed inside the Amway Center, the rim-rattling moment was a show of the 6-foot-4 guard’s tremendous promise and they celebrated it by filling the air with noisy cheers. But to Fultz, the player who torturously had the game of basketball taken away from him for two seasons while he tried to solve the tricky shoulder injury that threatened to wreck his NBA career, the dunk was downright therapeutic.
``Awww, man, I’ve dreamed about those,’’ Fultz said of the jam he pulled off by cocking his right arm behind his head and dunking with such authority that the backboard shook for a matter of seconds. ``I’ve done a lot of those (dunks) in my time and I saw an opportunity to get up and get one. My teammates were giving me a lot of (mess) about not dunking, so I had to get that one. So, it was good.’’
Good, but not great, was an apt word to describe the play of the Magic (1-0) in an opener filled with streaky play throughout against the rebuilding Cavaliers (0-1). Orlando overcame a slow defensive start by ripping off a 16-0 run in the second quarter. Longtime stalwarts Nikola Vucevic (21 points and nine rebounds), Evan Fournier (16 points) and Terrence Ross (10 points) – three of the team’s 12 returning players from last season’s 42-40 squad – steadied the offense through sluggish stretches in the second and third quarters.
As it turns out, Fultz proved to be the difference-maker late in the night with his dynamic ability to beat defenders and get into the paint where he made plays both for himself and others. In 23 minutes, he finished with 12 points, six assists, two steals and several thousands of ooohs and ahhs from the adoring fans.
``He was the difference in the game in the second half,’’ said Magic coach Steve Clifford, who isn’t prone to hyperbole, especially when it comes to young players. ``We had our best stretch in the first half when he was on the floor, and then the (lead) was at four or six when he came in in the second half, and his ability to get into the paint and finish plays, it was the difference in the game.’’
Fultz, 21, was playing his first NBA game since last November while still a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. The Magic made the bold move of trading for the No. 1 pick from the 2017 NBA Draft even though he was suffering from thoracic outlet syndrome in his right shoulder, an injury that made lifting his arm high enough to shoot the ball difficult.
Fultz spent last season after arriving in Orlando and all summer rehabilitating his shoulder and rehabbing his game. Healthy and happy again, Fultz admitted to feeling both jittery and emotional about making his triumphant return to NBA basketball. But he was able to calm himself throughout the day to ready himself for the game.
``When I woke up (Wednesday) morning, as soon as I woke up (he thought), `The NBA is back!’’’ he said. ``It started (on Tuesday) watching the Lakers and Clippers. But when I woke up (Wednesday) morning, it was my chance to go out there and shine. I thank God for the opportunity. I just went about my day and I didn’t want to overthink it or do too much. I just thanked Him for the opportunity to play and I went about my day.’’
Orlando, which returns players who comprised 86 percent of the minutes played during the 2018-19 season, ended last season with nine consecutive victories at home and it started this one with what will go down as a 10th straight win at the Amway Center. That’s the longest such home winning streak for the Magic since they won the final seven in Orlando in 2009-10 and opened the 2010-11 season with four more home victories.
The Magic used the 16-0 burst in the second quarter and an 8-0 surge in the third period to retain the lead after Cleveland and first-year NBA coach John Beilein made several runs. Orlando, which trailed 14-12 and 21-20 in the early going, led by as much as 20 in the first half and never lost the lead in the second half.
Fournier had 12 of his 16 points in the first half, while Vucevic played well and finished with 21 points and nine rebounds in his eighth consecutive Opening Night start for the Magic.
Orlando shot 43 percent from the floor and made nine of 30 3-point tries. The Magic also converted just 11 of 19 from the free throw line.
``I feel like as a team, we’re deep and we have a lot of talent,’’ said Ross, who struggled through a four-of-13 shooting night with two 3-pointers. ``It kind of showed tonight.’’
Aaron Gordon added nine points and three rebounds, while Jonathan Isaac mustered three points and eight rebounds. Isaac had one of the best sequences of the night when he swatted a Cedi Osman layup off the backboard, sprinted the length of the floor and used a ``Euro-step’’ move to avoid a defender before flipping in a short shot with his left hand.
Tristan Thompson (16 points and 11 rebounds) and Kevin Love (11 points and 18 rebounds) led Cleveland, which had four players in double figures in scoring. The Cavs shot just 37.1 percent against the Magic’s long-armed defense.
Clifford, who guided the Magic back to the playoffs in his first season in Orlando, said prior to Wednesday’s game that he is eager to see how this team can grow and evolve as the season progresses. Clifford despises the notion of setting expectations for teams, feeling they limit the possibilities. Instead, he said if things go right the Magic have a chance to be contenders in the Eastern Conference.
``I think in this league, with where we’re at and we have a good team and should have a terrific year, you don’t put limits on what you can become, nor do you set unreasonable goals,’’ Clifford said. ``There are some teams in this league in the East and the West – and I’ve been fortunate to be a part of those teams – their goal is to be top-four (in the standings). Now, could that happen for us? It could, but a lot of things would have to go our way, we’d have to play great, other teams would have to play not so well and health will be a big part of it and the schedule. But we’re a playoff team.
``But, I think our guys understand this: You’ve just got to play the game,’’ Clifford continued. ``Play a game and get in a mindset of you learn from a game and then you play again – which, for us, will be Saturday (in Atlanta) and Monday (in Toronto). That’s the best way to go in this league. I don’t care how good your team is, if you start jumping around and saying, `We need to win X-amount of games’ or `we need to do this and that,’ that’s not how it works. When you play 82 games, that’s just not how it works.’’
Things work a little better for the Magic when Fultz is getting into the heart of the defense with his dribble penetration, making multiple defenders focus on him and then picking them apart with his passing.
The Magic got the 210-pounder into the game in the first five minutes of the first quarter and he didn’t waste time in showing off his enormous potential with a variety of stellar moves. Getting almost anywhere on the floor he wanted with his herky-jerky dribble, Fultz converted his first four shots off pick-and-roll plays. On another, he commanded the attention of two defenders and found a rolling Bamba for an alley-oop dunk. In 10 first-half minutes, Fultz had eight points and the one assist.
In the second half, he missed all three of his 3-point tries and he turned the ball over three times. But the night undoubtedly will be remembered for his dazzling playmaking and that one-handed jam that had Magic players springing off the bench and fans joyously celebrating. Fultz said it back during the exhibition season and he said it again on Wednesday: He loves being a playmaker as much as he does a scorer and it is a way that he can vault the Magic’s offense to a completely different level.
``I think it’s a huge weapon, being able to be a big guard and get into that paint, put pressure on the rim and just find whoever is open,’’ Fultz said. ``That’s my biggest thing – I want my teammates to know if they are open, they are going to get the ball. It’s going to be on time and on target and all they’ve got to worry about is knocking (the shot) down. As the season goes on and I get more comfortable, I just want them to feel more confident if they are open, they will get the ball. It gives them more confidence and it makes the game fun.’’
Raved Ross, who pointed out that the Magic difference is a completely different animal with Fultz breaking down opponents: ``For sure, he makes us different. He’s a big-body guard with eyes in the back of his head, extremely athletic, he passes the ball and he plays defense. So, he brings another whole level to the team. … People forget, I guess, how he can play. He was the No. 1 pick, he’s making around-the-back passes and he can see everything. That’s the amazing part.’’
The amazing part, too, was that Fultz dunk that announced to the basketball world that he’s back and he’s a force for Magic foes to deal with in the future. For Fultz, it was a moment for him to unleash two years of frustration on the rim even if he did slightly bruise his wrist.
``Man, that was great,’’ he said of his feelings to end his night with a thunderous dunk. ``It got my wrist a little bit, but it was good to get up there and get one.’’
Undoubtedly, a Magic team already benefiting from Fultz’s dynamic play couldn’t have agreed more about the joy they felt for their new teammate on Wednesday night.
``I can imagine (what Fultz had been through),’’ said Bamba, who had seven points and seven rebounds in his first game since having his own rookie season was cut short by a left leg injury. ``I was in contact with Markelle throughout those times (when he was out of basketball). It just fuels the fire when the game is taken away from you and it makes you appreciate it even more. I bet he’s having the time of his life right now after the way he played tonight.’’
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