By John Denton April 3, 2016
ORLANDO – For months now, head coach Scott Skiles has repeatedly talked to his Orlando Magic about the art of responding – both following difficult losses and during games when the opponent makes momentum-turning run at them.
Stick a big three, take a charge, grab a rebound in traffic or figuratively put your foot down and take a stand – as Skiles has said so often this season – and the Magic might find themselves in a completely different predicament right now instead of being on the outside looking in. Having that mettle to respond is what often separates winning teams from losing ones.
It’s taken 76 games, but the Magic are finally starting to show signs of being able to stomach some adversity and respond in the proper manner.
Two days removed from a frustrating loss in Milwaukee where they came unhinged defensively late and squandered a five-point edge, Orlando responded on Sunday with a highly efficient 119-107 rout of the undermanned Memphis Grizzlies.
Led by more spectacular shooting from Nikola Vucevic (25 points) and the all-around play of guard Victor Oladipo (22 points), Orlando (33-44) won for the fourth time in the its last five games. The Magic’s three-game winning streak might have ended on Friday, but you could never tell it on Sunday when they drilled 47.8 percent of their shots, handed out 27 assists and led by as much as 20 points in the second half.
The Magic improved to 21-17 at the Amway Center with their third straight home victory – one shy of the high for the season. Also, Orlando topped the 100-point plateau for the fifth straight game on Sunday night.
Evan Fournier started strong and finished 22 points and three 3-pointers, while point guard Elfrid Payton distributed 11 assists to go with his seven points. Andrew Nicholson (10 points) had two 3-pointers midway through the fourth period to boost Orlando’s lead back up to 109-91 after the Grizzlies had gotten to within 12.
Memphis (41-36) lost for a sixth straight time to fall into a tie for the sixth seed with Portland. Houston beat Oklahoma City on Sunday and could ultimately run down the injury ravaged Grizzlies, who got 24 points and five 3-pointers from Matt Barnes and 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists from power forward Zach Randolph.
Orlando ended a nine-game skid against the Grizzlies, a losing streak that dated back to Nov. 15, 2010. That drought included a January loss in Memphis in which Orlando had a four-point lead in the final 15 seconds and ultimately lost in overtime.
Skiles made the decision to use Vucevic off the bench for a third straight game on Sunday night because he didn’t want to disrupt the starting five’s rhythm and he is still trying to monitor the minutes of the 7-footer, who recently missed 13 straight games because of a strained right groin. But some of the coach’s decision could have been based on the success that Vucevic has had off the bench, doing so four times now this season.
Early in the season, Vucevic played off the bench following a knee injury and he made the game-winning shot against the Lakers. On Thursday in Indiana, Vucevic played for the first time in 3 1/2 weeks and made 12 of 15 shots. He followed that up on Friday with a 10-of-13 night in Milwaukee.
Vucevic came into Sunday having started 265 of his 268 games with the Magic over the past four seasons, but he’s been highly efficient off the bench. In those three stints as a reserve he’s averaged 21.3 points on 72 percent shooting.
He did nothing to harm those numbers on Sunday, drilling 10 of 19 shots and five of seven free throws in 32 minutes.
Oladipo was iffy to play because of an ankle sprain suffered in Friday’s 113-110 loss in Milwaukee – a game where the standout guard had 18 points, five assists, five steals and four blocks. He showed no signs of injury, making nine of 18 shots and stacking up seven rebounds with his 22 points.
Orlando was playing for the first time since seeing its three-game winning streak come to an end Friday night in Milwaukee. The Magic whipped Chicago, Brooklyn and Indiana – all by at least 20 points – for their first three-game win streak since mid-December.
Having played four of the past six nights, the Magic will get a two-night break before hosting the Detroit Pistons and former Orlando forward Tobias Harris on Wednesday. Just three home games remain: Wednesday against Detroit; Friday versus Miami; and Monday against Milwaukee.
Memphis, which is without standouts Marc Gasol and Mike Conley for the rest of the regular season, has been historically devastated by injuries. The Grizzlies have had 28 players log minutes so far, breaking the NBA record for the number of players on one roster to see playing time in a season.
The Magic took a 97-85 edge into the fourth quarter, but they clearly missed a chance to blow the Grizzlies out of the Amway Center in the third period. Orlando led by 20 points a couple of times midway through the period, but it was unable to hang onto the lead when the defense wobbled.
Orlando hit Memphis from all angles in the third period as Oladiop (eight points in the third), Fournier (seven points in the third) and Vucevic (six points in the third) played well offensively. Through three periods, Orlando had poured in 52.9 percent of its shots and were 20 of 25 from the free throw line.
Orlando played well throughout the first two quarters and led 67-56 thanks to 54 percent shooting and more red-hot play from Vucevic. The Magic used 19 assists to set up their first 27 field goals in the early going.
The Magic built an 11-point lead early in the second quarter and seemed to be on the verge of blowing out Memphis before the Grizzlies made a charge to within 55-53. From there, Orlando strung together a 12-3 finish to the first half to push the lead back to 11 points. Oladipo had a spectacular alley-oop dunk and two free throws during the run to give Orlando some breathing room at halftime.
Payton, who has played his best basketball of the season in the last two weeks, handed out nine first-half assists – five in the first period and four in the second. He worked well with Vucevic in the pick-and-pop game, he repeatedly found Fournier on the wings on drive-and-kick plays and his lob to Oladipo was right on the money for the highlight worthy dunk.
Used as a reserve for a third straight game, Vucevic entered the game six minutes after the tip and went to work on carving up the Grizzlies. He made four of his first five shots for a nine-point first quarter. He followed it up with another eight points in the second period to give him 17 by intermission.
Early on in the game, Memphis had a 12-0 edge on Orlando from the 3-point stripe, but Fournier helped even things up by drilling two 3-pointers in the second period. Fournier had 12 points by halftime.
