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 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.
That 16-point barrage moved Ross up into a tie for third in the NBA in fourth-quarter scoring among reserves. Ross is averaging 5.4 points a night in the fourth quarter of games, easily the leader on the Magic. He trails only Los Angeles Clippers guard Lou Williams (7.8 points) and Minnesota’s Derrick Rose (5.6 points) among reserves in fourth-quarter scoring.
Ross said everything he has endured in his NBA career – bouts of maddening inconsistency; a jaw-dropping 51-point game in his second season 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.’’
AUGUSTIN AVOIDS INJURY: Calling the play where his foot slipped and his ankle buckled ``a freak accident,’’ Magic point guard D.J. Augustin was relieved that the sprain of his right ankle wasn’t a serious one and he was able to start Sunday’s game.
Late in the second quarter of Saturday’s win in Indiana, Augustin stole the ball from Cory Joseph and headed for what looked to be an easy, uncontested basket. However, as Augustin planted to go up for the layup, the outside of his Fila shoe hit the floor, causing him to slip and his ankle to turn. Augustin was somehow able to flip the shot in with his left hand, but he soon left the game. Augustin had his ankle re-taped at halftime and tried to play, but the point guard was pulled by Magic head coach Steve Clifford because of his struggles moving laterally.
Augustin tested the ankle out prior to Sunday’s game and diagnosed himself ready to play about an hour prior to tipoff.
``That’s a freak accident,’’ Augustin said. ``It’s something I’ve never done before and I’m just glad it wasn’t worse than what it was and I’m back tonight.’’
Augustin, a 31-year-old veteran of 11 NBA seasons, has missed just one game all season (Dec. 31 because of a right ankle sprain). In addition to averaging a team-best 4.9 assists per game (31stin the NBA), Augustin is averaging 11.3 points and 2.3 rebounds while shooting 43.6 percent from 3-point range (fifth in the NBA) and 85.4 percent from the free throw line (22ndin the NBA). Among guards, Augustin ranks second in the NBA in points per shot attempt (1.46), trailing only reigning MVP James Harden (1.49) of the Houston Rockets.
The point guard admitted that he wanted to play through the pain to help the Magic in their push to reach the postseason.
``I’ve always been the type of person who if I was really hurt, I wouldn’t play. But if I have little pain, I feel like that’s something we should play through,’’ Augustin said. ``We’re professionals and we get paid to play basketball. Everybody plays through pain every night and nobody is 100 percent now. But if I feel like it’s just a little soreness, I’ll play through it. But if I’m hurt, that’s when I won’t play. You never want to go out there and not play your full game. And we’re playing for something now, so I want to help the team as much as I can.’’
FOURNIER FINDING GROOVE: Lost somewhat in Ross’ fourth-quarter brilliance and all-star Nikola Vucevic’s daily steadiness has been the stellar two-way play of late of guard Evan Fournier. This season has been mostly a struggle for Fournier – something shocking to some around the Magic after the guard led the team in scoring each of the past three seasons – but his shooting stroke has started to return of late.
Over his previous 10 games, Fournier has averaged 15.1 points, 4.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 42.5 percent from the floor and 31.4 percent from 3-point range. Fournier made a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds of a game against the Bulls two weeks ago and on Saturday in Indiana he capped a 19-point, eight-assist night with a game-sealing 3-pointer with 8.4 seconds remaining.
``I wouldn’t say so, no,’’ Fournier said when asked if he felt like he was all the way back to his usual form. What did make him feel better was drilling the most clutch shot of Saturday’s victory.
``Last (final-minute) shot I hit (on Feb. 22), we lost the game against Chicago, so this one felt good,’’ said Fournier, who also has two game-winning shots and a game-tying dunk to his credit this season in the final seconds of games. ``It’s the most enjoyable thing you can have in basketball – hit a clutch shot and win the game. It doesn’t get any better.’’
UP NEXT: After playing on Saturday and Sunday, the Magic will get a much-needed day off to rest on Monday. On Tuesday, Orlando will face the Philadelphia 76ers in the City of Brotherly Love.
Sixers’ all-star center Joel Embiid has already been ruled out for the game because of left knee soreness. In two games against the Magic this season, Embiid has averaged 25.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists despite shooting just 41.3 percent from the floor. With 7-foot-3 center Boban Marjanovic (knee sprain), the Sixers are likely to start Jonah Bolden at center and play Amir Johnson extensively in the middle.
Orlando and Philadelphia have played twice already this season with each side winning once on their home floor. The Sixers won 116-115 on Oct. 20 behind 32 points from Embiid and 31 points (and eight 3-pointers) from former Magic guard J.J. Redick.
The Magic got their revenge on Nov. 14 by using a 35-19 edge in the fourth quarter – including 21 straight points during one stretch – to wipe out a 15-point deficit. Vucevic, who had 30 points that night and a triple-double in the first meeting, has averaged 28.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 8.5 assists this season against the Sixers.
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