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Denton: Magic vs. Blazers Analysis (1/8/14)

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

By John Denton Jan. 8, 2014

PORTLAND – Collectively, the Orlando Magic were fed up with the malaise and frustrated feelings surrounding the team for some time now. On Wednesday night they vowed to do something about it.

Whether they won or not, Magic players vowed to a man that they would play and look like a different sort of team against powerful Portland. After all, they were coming off an unsightly 20-point loss that once included a 35-point deficit.

The Magic were true to their words on Wednesday, playing with the kind of energy and cohesion that had been missing just two nights earlier. They shared the ball, fought on the boards to make up for the absence of starting center Nikola Vucevic and pushed Portland to the limit. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough as the Blazers found the range on their 3-point shots in the fourth quarter just as Orlando was going cold in a 110-92 Magic loss at Portland’s Moda Center.

``I tell our guys that we don’t know the outcome of a game – we really don’t – but what we can control is how hard we can play,’’ Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. ``On most nights we give an effort like this and we’ll put ourselves in position to win ball games.’’

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