ORLANDO – Whether it was with Terrence Ross coming off screens and burying contested 3-pointers, forwards Jonathan Isaac and Aaron Gordon making life miserable for foes who dared driving to the rim or center Nikola Vucevic providing key plays on both ends, so much of Monday night’s win for the Orlando Magic resembled last spring’s stirring run to the playoffs.
Once again, the Magic rode Ross’ shooting from deep, relied on their defense first and foremost and played with a desperation and distinct sense of urgency. And again, like last spring when Orlando ripped off a 22-9 run to get to the playoffs, the Magic delighted the Amway Center crowd on Monday with one of those absolutely, positively have-to-have-it kind of wins.
When Ross poured in a season-high 26 points, Isaac and Gordon combined for six blocks and five steals and Vucevic chipped in 21 points, the Magic were able to gut out a 103-95 defeat of the Chicago Bulls that snapped their losing skid at three games.
``Tonight, I thought we played like our backs were against the wall and we really needed this win,’’ Vucevic said. ``Compared to last year, maybe it was similar because our backs were against the wall then too and we needed every win. But when you’re coming off a three-game losing streak and you’re coming back home, you need to win, and I thought we played like it. We played desperate and it came through for us.’’
A sellout crowd of 18,846 at the Amway Center cheered throughout as Orlando (13-17) got six 3-pointers from Ross and 13 blocked shots and 10 steals from a defense spearheaded by the activity of Mo Bamba (four points and four blocks), Isaac (13 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and four steals) and Gordon (16 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and one steal). One of the defining sequences of the game came with nine minutes to play when Chicago’s Thaddeus Young got to the rim for a layup, but it was tipped away by Gordon. After collecting the carom, Young went up for another attempt and Bamba smashed the shot back to the Amway Center parquet floor.
``When guys come in there and it looks like they’ve got something easy and they don’t get it done (because of Orlando’s shot-blockers), it changes the momentum,’’ said Isaac, who entered the game third in the NBA in blocked shots (2.56) and tied for 31stin steals (1.26) and he raised both of those averages on Monday. ``Especially the play where they had a back-door (cut) and Thaddeus Young had a wide-open layup and A.G. got a piece of it and he got it back and Mo destroyed it. I think plays like that are demoralizing – when you think you’ve got something easy and guys come out of nowhere for the block. That speaks to our effort tonight.’’
Orlando’s effort was strong enough to hold Chicago – winners of two straight before Monday – to just 39.8 percent shooting. Zach LaVine, who entered as one of the NBA’s hottest scorers in recent weeks, had 26 points, but he made just eight of 26 field goals and only three of 13 3-point shots for the Bulls (12-20). After one sequence when he was pinned against the sideline by an aggressive Isaac close out, LaVine walked toward his own bench shaking his head as blood poured out of his bottom lip.
``In the second half, we played more to what our roster is (constructed to be) with better defense,’’ Magic coach Steve Clifford said. ``But the biggest thing is our multiple efforts were better in the second half. Our defense was much, much better.’’
That improved defense likely wouldn’t have resulted in a victory without the timely shooting of Ross, who made eight of 17 shots, six of 13 3-pointers and all four of his free throws. His 26 points – bettering his previous high this season of 23 – rescued the Magic on a night when leading scorer Evan Fournier managed just eight points and point guard Markelle Fultz (13 points, six rebounds and four assists) had to overcome five turnovers.
All throughout last season, when the Magic had an NBA-best 11 wins when they rallied in the fourth quarter, Ross usually played a central role with his fearless 3-point shooting and ability to heat up in a hurry. On Monday, he scored 14 first-half points, seven more in the third period and he pumped in the Magic’s first five points of the fourth quarter to give them a lead they would never lose the rest of the way.
``It changes our offense completely because not many guys in the league can do what he does,’’ Vucevic said of Ross. ``To have him is a luxury, having him come off screens and shoot it that quickly and jump that quickly helps us a lot and it opens up so much for us. He’s a great shot-maker and when he gets it going like he did tonight, it opens up so much for us.’’
Orlando was playing for the first time since Friday when it wrapped up a four-game, seven-night trip through the Western Conference with three consecutive losses. After opening the trip with a stirring win in New Orleans, the Magic blew second-half leads in losses to the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets. On Friday, the Magic surrendered a 15-0 run to Portland in the early going and they were unable to overcome 36 points from superstar guard Damian Lillard.
Their losing streak snapped at three, Gordon was able to fully savor the win and play the role of ``Santa Claus’’ in the Magic locker room. Dressed in the full red and white costume complete with the curly white beard and round eyeglasses, Gordon released some of the frustration that had built up recently during a four-game shooting slump. Afterward, he reveled in a win where the Magic got contributions from several spots on the roster.
``It was good to see us play well tonight. Santa Claus has always been a big fan of the Orlando Magic, so everybody gets gifts tonight and everybody is on the nice list,’’ Gordon said playfully through the heavy, white beard. ``It looked like everybody was playing together, we were locked in on defense and the ball was moving. Everybody was playing to their strengths and it was a good, solid team win.’’
The Magic will not only be home for the holidays, but they will be off from game action for three nights to rest up for a potential late-December charge. Orlando is scheduled to hold an optional workout on Tuesday, be off for Christmas Day and then practice again on Thursday. The Magic host the star-studded Philadelphia 76ers on Friday at the Amway Center.
The Magic’s one victory this season against teams with winning records came against the 76ers on Nov. 13 at the Amway Center. In that game, Philadelphia was playing on the second night of a back-to-back and it was without all-star center Joel Embiid. Undoubtedly, those factors figured into the Magic holding a 34-15 fourth-quarter advantage in the 112-97 victory.
Down three at the half, the Magic took better care of the ball and got points from a variety of sources in the third period to take an 83-81 edge into the fourth quarter. Isaac led Orlando’s strong effort on both ends of the floor, contributing four points, three rebounds and two blocks in the third period alone.
Orlando missed out on a chance to tie the game just before halftime when Ross misfired on a wing 3-pointer and it headed to the locker room down 54-51.
That miss was one of a very few for Ross, who scored 14 points in the first half. He buried his first three 3-pointers and made four of seven from beyond the arc in the early going.
Gordon came into the game in one of the worst shooting funks of his NBA career, but he was active and aggressive throughout the night against Chicago’s smallish starting lineup. One of his best sequences of the half came when he converted a gritty left-handed layup over Tomas Satoransky. Then, on the next possession, Gordon took a feed into the post and shoveled the ball to Fultz, who dunked with authority. Gordon had nine points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots in the opening half.
For the game, Gordon made six of 14 shots, one of three 3-pointers and half of his six free throws. But his biggest basket of the night came with 36 seconds to play when he followed up a miss with a thunderous dunk that sent the Magic on their way to a victory.
Gordon and Clifford chatted briefly on Sunday and talked about ways that the forward can impact the game even when his shot wasn’t falling. Gordon did just that on Monday when he was active on the defensive end and aggressive with his rebounding and cutting to the rim.
``It’s just about level of focus; that’s something that’s never been taken lightly by me,’’ Gordon said. ``I’ve just got to increase the level of focus that I’m putting into the game off the court, just putting in those mental reps. I appreciate Coach Cliff coming in and giving me that motivation and confidence. It was good for me.’’
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