By John Denton Dec. 27, 2013
ORLANDO – Through good times and bad, Orlando Magic coach Jacque Vaughn’s message to his team is usually the same: Consistent hard work and effort often pile up like money in the bank and tend to pay off in the long run.
That’s what Vaughn told his team after each of the past three losses at the Amway Center, a message that kept any potential negativity at bay and strengthened the team’s belief throughout the mini-drought.
Orlando played like a team that still believes it can accomplish significant things this season on Friday night, shredding the much-improved Detroit Pistons 109-92 with some torrid shooting, gritty interior defense and solid play from rookie guard Victor Oladipo.
``We were consistent from the beginning of the game and we just kept doing the right thing over, over and over,’’ said center Nikola Vucevic, who recorded his 17th double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds and shut down Detroit’s Greg Monroe. ``That’s the only way we’re going to get wins – by staying consistent. The main thing is for us to be unselfish on defense where we’re helping one another and offensively we have to share the ball.’’
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