By John Denton
Nov. 14, 2016
INDIANAPOLIS – Orlando Magic coach Frank Vogel knew that simply returning to Bankers Life Fieldhouse – a place where he had so much success during 5 ½ years as a head coach of the Indiana Pacers – would stir the emotions inside of him.
However, Vogel never counted on the prevailing emotions from Monday being that of frustration and anger over his Magic lacking the energy and focus needed to win for a second time in as many nights.
A night after toppling Oklahoma City in power forward Serge Ibaka’s return to the city where he spent the previous seven seasons, Vogel wasn’t as fortunate in his first game back in Indiana since last spring’s divorce from the Pacers. Vogel’s Magic looked flat all night and never found any offensive rhythm of any kind in a frustrating 88-69 loss to the Pacers.
This is all you need to know about the differences between the energetic Magic of Sunday and the one that slogged through Monday: They went from scoring 119 points in OKC to a season-worst 69 on Monday.
``It’s a very disappointing performance tonight – that’s the only way to put it,’’ Vogel said. ``I’m very disappointed in how we played.’’
Orlando (4-7) shot just 32.1 percent from the floor, turned the ball over 16 times and set a season low in scoring with the 69 points, coming in five points below the 74 scored last Friday against Utah. It was the first time since Feb. 4, 2013 – a 61-point effort in Philadelphia – that the Magic failed to crack 70 points.
Making matters even worse is the fact that Indiana (4-7) came into the game 29th in the NBA in points allowed and 27th in field goal percentage allowed.
``We had a couple of stretches where we got three stops in a row, but we just couldn’t make a shot all night. It’s one of those that’s hard (to explain),’’ said Ibaka, who scored just six points a night after accounting for a career-best 31 points in OKC. ``It’s really frustrating – I’m not going to lie to you. After (Sunday) night, when we played good against a good team and we were good on offense, then tonight we were nothing. We were missing so many shots, but that’s basketball.’’
Coming off Sunday’s thrilling 119-117 victory in OKC – a game where Ibaka set his career-high in scoring and drilled the game-winning shot in the final second – the Magic failed to muster much life. That spoiled any chance that Vogel had of returning to Indiana and escaping with a victory against the team that refused to renew his contract last May.
The sparse crowd at Bankers Life Fieldhouse prior to tipoff gave Vogel a light ovation when his name was announced during pregame introductions. Vogel, who received hugs from many of his former players before the start of the game, had a big smile on his face as he acknowledged the crowd with a wave. Vogel took over as the head coach of the Pacers in January of 2011, and over the next 5 ½ seasons, he guided the franchise to five playoff berths and two appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals.
``We had a great relationship here with the players and the fan base. I’m very fond of my time here, but obviously my focus now is to get this (Magic) team playing the right way,’’ Vogel said. ``I love the fans here (in Indiana) and we had a special relationship. I’m very, very grateful for the support they have shown me over the years and it was a warm welcome.’’
Magic standouts Evan Fournier (four of 15 shooting, 14 points) and Nikola Vucevic (one of 10 shooting, two points and 12 rebounds) suffered through dismal nights. Elfrid Payton, who played arguably the best game of his career on Sunday, chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds, but he turned the ball over three times and missed six shots.
``It’s disappointing because we got into a big slump offensively and we couldn’t make shots, myself included,’’ Vucevic said. ``We had a great game (on Sunday) where we were really good on both ends and we didn’t keep up that momentum, so it’s really frustrating.’’
Orlando’s starting five made just 14 of 43 shots (32.5 percent). Indiana (5-6) got 13 points from star forward Paul George, who was questionable to play because of an ankle injury and he limped his way through a five-of-16 shooting performance. Reserve guard C.J. Miles drilled four 3-pointers and scored 16 points.
Fournier said a lack of energy was the primary reason why the Magic couldn’t carry over the momentum built on Sunday to Monday night’s game.
``I feel like we (used) a lot of energy in the battle last night and we didn’t come out with the right energy in the second half,’’ Fournier said. ``Being careless offensively, not making the right choices, bad passes, bad spacing. They found their rhythm and we couldn’t make a shot today for some reason.’’
Bismack Biyombo was one of the few bright spots, giving the Magic nine points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots. Aaron Gordon chipped in 11 off the bench, while starter Jeff Gordon contributed just three points and two rebounds in 22 minutes.
The Magic’s topsy-turvy season continued to be consistently baffling – with Monday’s disappointment following the thrill of Sunday’s win serving as the latest example. Orlando opened the season with three consecutive victories, but followed that up with three straight victories. But they couldn’t take the winning streak any further and they ultimately dropped three straight games before Sunday’s victory.
Any hopes of Orlando putting together another winning spree died in the second quarter when it surrendered the lead and never got it back the rest of the night.
Trailing 41-37 after a flat first half, Orlando made things worse in the third quarter and found itself in a 71-57 hole heading into the fourth. The Magic never could get much going against an Indiana defense that has been among the NBA’s worst all season and they made just six of 20 tries in the third quarter.
Fournier and Vucevic, Orlando’s most consistent scorers the past two seasons, couldn’t shake free and had no luck getting to the free throw line. Through three quarters, Fournier missed 11 of his 13 shot attempts, while Vucevic was off on eight of nine attempts. Ibaka wasn’t any better, misfiring 10 times with four of those coming from beyond the 3-point arc.
``A lot of times we did (get the shot that was wanted) and we couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean and our execution is a long way from where it needs to be,’’ Vogel cracked. ``I’ve got to figure out how to use (Fournier and Vucevic) better and get them in better spots. And they have to bring pride to their individual performances – as does our whole team.’’
Fournier, who has evolved into one of the team’s best leaders, said that it’s maddening for the Magic to be so inconsistent. The differences in the level of play between Sunday and Monday show that the team has a long way to go to get to the level that it is seeking, the guard said.
``It is always harder to play on a back-to-back,’’ Fournier said. ``They had a good coverage with (center Myles Turner) dropping and we didn’t have enough ball movement. It was just pick-and-roll, pick-and-roll instead of pocket passes and reversing the ball to the corner. We’ve got to work on that.
``We played great (Sunday) night and we should have the same spirit and the same focus – no excuses,’’ Fournier added. ``That’s the NBA and you’re going to go through (bouts of inconsistency). We’ve got to keep working, watching videos and learn from the mistakes that we’re making. But I feel like we’re headed to the right direction. Tonight was not the best performance that we’ve had, but we’re headed to the right direction.’’
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors.