CLEVELAND – Like a boxer with a lethal knockout punch, a baseball team with an unhittable closer or a football team with a quarterback who is masterful in the two-minute drill, the Orlando Magic now have something of trump card late in games in guard Terrence Ross.
Orlando is tied for the most come-from-behind wins in the NBA when trailing after three periods with eight largely because of Ross’ ability to get scorching-hot late in games. The seven-year NBA veteran has become the Magic’s most unstoppable weapon of late by battering seemingly helpless foes with an array of high-arching 3-point shots and hard drives to the rim when they overplay his jumpers.
Two nights after scoring 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter of a Magic rally past Golden State, Ross took things to another level completely on Saturday in Indiana. Despite having just eight points through three quarters and missing five of his first six tries from 3-point range, Ross poured in 16 of his 23 in the fourth quarter as Orlando surged past Indiana, 117-112, before a stunned crowd at BankersLife Fieldhouse.
Ross said everything he has endured in his NBA career – bouts of maddening inconsistency; a jaw-dropping 51-point game that raised expectations; a mid-season trade to Orlando in 2017; and last season’s serious knee injury – prepared him for the role he now has for Orlando.
``It’s different and it’s a change, really,’’ Ross said. ``For years, I was just kind of a role player down the stretch and not really a go-to scorer. But, now with this, it’s a different chapter in my career.’’
The Magic, who improved to 30-34 and back into a tie for the No. 8 spot in the East standings, will be back at work on Sunday night when they face the rebuilding Cavaliers in Cleveland. Orlando might need another fourth-quarter rescue mission from Ross since starting point guard D.J. Augustin is unlikely to play after spraining his ankle in odd fashion in the second quarter of Saturday’s win.
If Augustin – who didn’t play over the final 21 minutes of Saturday’s game because his sore ankle limited his defensive mobility – can’t play, veteran Jerian Grant is likely to start so that rookie Isaiah Briscoe can remain in his regular role as a reserve. Grant, who has struggled most of the season, had seven points, two assists and a steal in 12 minutes on Saturday.
``They’re two guys who were ready to play, they’re professional and they were ready when their name was called,’’ Augustin said. ``That’s what the NBA is about – opportunity – because you never know when somebody might go down and you have to step up and play.’’
Ross certainly stepped up on Saturday when Orlando limped into the fourth period trailing 87-83 because of some shoddy defense.
Ross already had plenty of experience being in that role before. Early in the season, he scored 10 of his 15 in the fourth as Orlando wiped out a 15-point deficit against Philadelphia. A month ago, he scored 13 of his 30 in the final period as the Magic ended an eight-game losing streak to Indiana. And this past Thursday, Ross scored 11 fourth-quarter points as Orlando wiped out a 13-point deficit to beat Golden State. How impressive was that rally? The Warriors, champs three times in the past four seasons, had won the previous 53 games in which they took a double-digit lead into the fourth quarter.
Prior to the game, Nate McMillan was asked where Ross sat on his team’s scouting report and he said bluntly, ``All the way up at the top.’’ That mattered very little to Ross, who had two 3-pointers in the first 84 seconds of the final period to give Orlando its first lead since the first quarter.
And Ross was just warming up. He then had a nifty three-point play off a finger roll layup and another dribble-handoff jumper that put the Magic ahead 107-102 with 4:08 to play. Then, the NBA’s leader in made 3-pointers among all reserves was hit as he attempted another long jumper and he sank three free throws with 1:44 to give Orlando a commanding 114-107 lead.
``That’s when you really dial in and everything matters,’’ Ross said of the laser-like focus in the fourth quarter. ``Not saying that the first three (quarters) don’t, but you always have that extra juice at the end of the game. I was just trying to get the next bucket again and again. When I hit one or two, then it just kind of makes me want another one, another one and another one. I’m always looking for that spark.’’
With Ross leading the way, Orlando is now tied with Golden State, Detroit, Sacramento and the Los Angeles Clippers for the most come-from-behind victories in the final period with eight. Ross came into Saturday first on the Magic in fourth-quarter scoring (5.2 points a night) – a number good enough for fifth in the NBA among all reserves.
With Ross – nicknamed ``The Human Torch’’ among teammates and fans because of his ability to heat up in a moment’s notice – the Magic are seemingly never out of games. His stellar shooting and infectious confidence have helped Orlando win 10 of 13 games to surge into playoff contention.
``We’ve got a lot of resiliency and a lot of fight on this team,’’ Ross said late Saturday night. ``We don’t roll over easy. We’re always going to try and fight our way back into games. That’s just the nature of this league, always fighting to find a way in the fourth quarter.’’
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