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By John DentonApril 9, 2016
MIAMI – When they needed it most, the Orlando Magic got contributions from various spots throughout their roster in Friday’s stirring defeat of the Miami Heat.
As it turns out, it’s a good thing that the Magic continue to have players ready to go considering that they will almost certainly be shorthanded the rest of the regular season.
Already without forward Aaron Gordon because of a concussion, Orlando lost standout guard Victor Oladipo on Friday to a concussion and a laceration over his left eye.
The Magic were still able to beat the Heat 112-109 thanks in large part to the 29 points (and the game-winning dunk) from Nikola Vucevic and 28 points (and the game-winning assist) from Evan Fournier. Others such as Elfrid Payton (16 points and 10 assists) and reserves C.J. Watson (five of his seven points in the fourth quarter) and Devyn Marble (a steal with three seconds left) played big roles in the Magic’s first win against Miami at the Amway Center in more than four years.
“We definitely showed a lot of heart,” said Fournier, whose pass to Vucevic led to the tie-breaking dunk with 20 seconds remaining. “Guys like Devyn Marble, who did not play much the whole game, coming in cold and diving for the ball for the game, that meant everything to us.”
Orlando, 34-45 and winners of five of the past seven games, will try and repeat the feat and beat the Heat (46-33) on Sunday night in Miami. The Magic will have to try and do it without their two best defensive players, and Oladipo and Gordon could miss the final three games of the regular season because of their concussions.
The Magic will have another shot at playing spoilers against their Sunshine State rivals. Of late, they have whipped Chicago, Indiana, Memphis and Miami – all teams that were in the midst of the playoff race at the time of facing the Magic.
Friday’s loss to the Magic dropped Miami dropped one game behind Boston for the fourth seed and 1 1/2 games back of Atlanta for the third seed. With home-court advantage on the line, the Heat obviously need to win to avoid being the fifth or sixth seeds in the playoffs, which begin next Saturday.
Oladipo shook off a slow start and heated up in the third quarter with seven of his 13 points. However, he was hit just above the left eye by a Hassan Whiteside elbow. Not only did Oladipo have a bloody gash that would need six stitches to close, he was woozy and needed help getting back to the Magic locker room. Oladipo was diagnosed with a concussion – his second of the season. He previously suffered a concussion on Nov. 11 when he collided with the shoulder of teammate Dewayne Dedmon and missed two games.
In the hours before Friday’s game, Oladipo talked about knowing what Gordon was going through with his concussion because of his scary experience in November. Gordon, who has blossomed as a starter the second half of the season, was accidentally elbowed by teammate Jason Smith in Wednesday’s loss to Detroit.
“I’m definitely helping him and trying to let him know what he has to do as far as not being in a room with any lights on,” Oladipo said of Gordon hours before suffering a concussion himself. “I’ve been through it. It’s not fun, but he’s got to get healthy.”
Watson, who was signed last July to give Orlando a veteran presence in the backcourt and be someone who could knock down big shots late in games, had much of his season marred by an early calf/knee injury. But he filled in nicely for the injured Oladipo on Friday. With Orlando clinging to a 102-101 lead with 1:55 to play, Watson drilled a 3-pointer. And a minute later he had a nifty layup in traffic that gave the Magic a 109-104 lead.
“I just wanted to get out there and play hard when I got the chance,” Watson said. “The role doesn’t change – just play hard and do what you can to help. I always stay ready, get my shots up and stay up on my conditioning, so nothing really changes for me.”
Fournier, who bounced back from a difficult shooting night on Wednesday with a solid two-way effort against Dwyane Wade on Friday, knows that the Magic will likely need everyone to keep their stirring late-season run alive over the final three games.
“It was great getting what we did from everybody and that’s what we need to win games,” Fournier said. “Anytime you have a guy coming off the bench and helping the group, that’s a big plus. Guys like C.J. came in at the end of the game and did a great job. He had big shots and that was big time for us.”
