CHARLOTTE – Resolute even in the face of his team being shorthanded on Wednesday, head coach Steve Clifford wanted to make one thing perfectly clear before his Orlando Magic took the floor against the Charlotte Hornets without starters Nikola Vucevic and Jonathan Isaac.
``We have a way to play, and when we play that way, we’re very good,’’ Clifford insisted. ``Not just good, but very good.’’
Despite missing their all-star center and prized second-year forward, Orlando played with the swagger instilled in them by Clifford and proved their coach to be right on in an impressive 122-114 defeat of the Charlotte Hornets in the final game of the regular season.
Orlando (42-40) won for a fourth straight time and for the 11th time in the final 13 games of the season to lock up the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Magic will open the playoffs this weekend on the road against the No. 2 seeded Toronto Raptors. And they will go into that series of a team that has a surging momentum on its side.
``This is a great way to end the regular season and get ready for the postseason. We’ve just got to keep this energy and this vibe and stay in rhythm when the playoffs begin,’’ said Magic guard Terrence Ross, who poured in a season-best 35 points to key Wednesday’s win. ``you can’t ask for more than the position we’re in and it’s about carrying (their momentum) into the playoffs and making sure that we��re ready to play when the ball is thrown up.’’
Orlando played well against Toronto during the regular season, going 2-2 and losing one of the games at the Amway Center on a buzzer-beating shot by Raptors’ guard Danny Green. Aaron Gordon, who had great success on the season while matched up against Toronto superstar Kawhi Leonard, likes the Magic’s chances in the series despite being enormous underdogs.
``We feel we can win, and we feel like we can win against anybody,’’ said Gordon, who bullied Charlotte around on Wednesday with 27 points and seven rebounds. ``It doesn’t matter (being underdogs). It’s about us. If we play our game, we’ll be OK.’’
The Magic are in that position because of the torrid, unconscionable shooting of Ross and the bully-ball post play of Gordon. Ross made 12 of 19 shots and six of 10 3-pointers, while Gordon dunked with authority nearly a half-dozen times and dominated in the post against smaller forwards. Orlando carved up Charlotte’s defense to the tune of 54.5 percent shooting with 11 3-pointers and 15-of-20 accuracy from the free throw line.
``The fight (is there) and I think everyone can see that we have a lot more confidence that we did, whatever, 35 games ago,’’ Clifford said his team locked up Orlando’s first winning record since the 2011-12 season. ``When things don’t go our way, we rely on our defense, which was good for the most part. We did a lot of good things.
``Now, we need to have a couple of good days of work and you want to be ready for Game 1 and not ease into it,’’ added Clifford, whose team is expected to find out later tonight from the NBA which days it will play in the series. Games 1 and 2 will be in Toronto, while Games 3 and 4 will be at the Amway Center. It will be Orlando’s first playoff games since 2012.
The Magic were playing for the first time since Sunday when they beat the Boston Celtics in impressive fashion to qualify for the franchise’s first playoff berth in seven seasons. That ended the longest postseason drought in the 30-year history of the franchise.
Orlando missed out on a chance to move up to the No. 6 seed when Sunshine State rival Miami was no help the Magic, losing 113-94 to the Brooklyn Nets. Detroit grabbed the No. 8 seed and eliminated Charlotte (39-43) with a 115-89 throttling of the woeful New York Knicks.
``This is just a very good end of the season and one thing about us is all season, we’ve gotten better,’’ said Magic guard Evan Fournier, who chipped in 14 points and three assists on Wednesday. ``Right now, I think we’re playing our best basketball.
``This is a good win, for sure,’’ Fournier added. ``This year, when we missed one starter, we got crushed every game. The fact that we won on the road with two starters out, it shows a lot again. I’d say the one in Boston was better than this one, but that was a good road trip for us, for sure.’’
The Magic trailed by as much as eight points in the first quarter, but it never trailed after Ross got to cooking late in that opening period. Ross had 11 points in the final five minutes of the first quarter, another eight in the second quarter, five in the third and 11 in the fourth to preserve the victory.
``With the other team, it just takes the wind out of them,’’ Gordon said of Ross’ torrid shooting. ``When he keeps hitting threes like that, it’s like, `Well, damn, what are we supposed to do?’ Can’t do nothing.’’
Long-time Magic nemesis Kemba Walker, a pending free agent, might have just played his final game for the Hornets. As usual, he was terrific against the Magic, pouring in 43 points by making 16 of 25 shots and four of nine 3-point shots. He was so good that when he checked out of the game with 1:06 to play, even Clifford – his coach the previous five seasons – cheered for the all-star guard.
Gordon made 11 of 18 shots for the Magic. D.J. Augustin scored 18 points and drilled three 3-pointers, while Evan Fournier chipped in 14 points.
Making Wednesday’s victory even more impressive was the fact that it was Orlando’s first win in Charlotte in 4 ½ seasons. The Magic snapped a seven-game losing streak in the Queen City that had inexplicably spanned back to Dec. 27, 2014. That was so long ago that Clifford was the coach in Charlotte at the time, while Hornets’ coach James Borrego was an assistant on the Orlando staff.
Charlotte came into the season with an 11-game winning streak on Orlando, and it pushed it to 13 with two lopsided victories early in the season. The Magic got a measure of revenge with a runaway win just before the break for the NBA All-Star Game and delivered a knockout blow to the Hornets in Wednesday’s finale.
After finishing with a disappointing 25 victories last season, the Magic made an NBA-best 17-win improvement this season.
``I just think we’re a smarter team this year and we play together more,’’ Gordon said. ``Everybody is allowing one another to flourish.’’
Orlando was without Vucevic (stomach virus) and Isaac (concussion) on Wednesday, ending a streak of 34 consecutive games that the Magic’s starting five had opened games together. All five of the Magic’s regular starters played in at least 75 games this season and that’s big reason for the team’s success, Clifford said. The hope, of course, is that both players will recover quickly and be available to play by the start of the playoffs.
``Look, if we had to play a series without (Vucevic), it would be a huge problem. But, in this league, for one night, you can play well with the guys that you have,’’ Clifford said. ``One thing we’ve been fortunate with so far this year has been health. Health is always one of the biggest factors for every team every year. … It’s more of a challenge for one night (with injuries to Vucevic and Isaac), but hopefully those guys will be back, and this will be the only game they will miss.’’
Charlotte’s Borrego, an assistant coach in Orlando from 2012-14 and the team’s interim head coach in 2015, said he was extremely happy for the Magic’s veteran players and the city of Orlando for qualifying for the playoffs after six years of difficult rebuilding.
``I’m really happy for them,’’ Borrego said prior to tipoff on Wednesday. ``They’ve been through a lot. A lot of tough years, a lot of losing and for them to turn this corner at this point just speaks to their character, their resiliency and how they stuck with it. It hasn’t been easy, especially for Evan (Fournier), (Nikola Vucevic) and I’d probably put (Aaron Gordon) in there as well, and the organization. The Magic organization has been good to me, so I’m happy for the organization and the city. I love that city, so it should be a real exciting time.’’
Jeremy Lamb scored 22 points with four 3-pointers of the bench for the Hornets.
Up just four at the half after the Hornets made a spirited charge late in the second quarter, the Magic quelled that rally in the third quarter with more decisive offensive play. Orlando carved up Charlotte’s defense to the tune of 14 of 22 shooting and took an impressive 97-88 lead into the fourth quarter.
Orlando showed no signs of missing Vucevic and Isaac in the early going and impressively led 62-58 at the half. The Magic had that advantage, largely, because of the instant offense provided by Ross off the Orlando bench.
Ross scored 11 points in his first five minutes of action by drilling his first four shots with a 3-pointer and two free throws. Five minutes into the second period, he already had 19 points by making six of seven shots, two of two 3-pointers and all five of his free throws.
Ross’ stellar play seemed to be a continuation of the way he played in Sunday’s win in Boston when he scored 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter of that victory.
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