By John DentonNov. 6, 2015
ORLANDO – Yet again on Friday night, the Orlando Magic stood toe-to-toe with another playoff power and traded punches all night long. And finally, at long last, the Magic finally landed the sort of knockout punch that they needed to floor an elite-level team.
When they absolutely had to have it, Orlando’s defense rose up and got the stop that it needed in the final seconds of another night-biter of a finish.
Jason Smith, the replacement for Dewayne Dedmon, coaxed a miss out of Jonas Valanciunas with 6 seconds to play and the Magic help on for a 92-87 victory that knocked Toronto from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Victor Oladipo drilled two clutch free throws and Evan Fournier hit two more in the final seconds for a Magic (2-4) team that won at the Amway Center for the first time this season.
The Magic finally snapped their losing streak against the Raptors at 11 games. Toronto (5-1) came into the game one of just two undefeated teams in the NBA along with the defending champion Golden State Warriors. Incredibly, the Magic hadn’t previously beaten the Raptors since March 26, 2012.
The schedule-makers did the Magic no favors starting the season, forcing them to play five teams that made the playoffs last season and a sixth – Oklahoma City – that’s almost certainly headed to the postseason this year. The Magic lost in overtime to OKC and Houston and also dropped games against Washington and Chicago – with all four losses coming by five-or-fewer points.
First-year Magic coach Scott Skiles said before the game that he could sense his young team turning the corner and progressing toward closing out games.
“Pressure is not the word, but we need to let the guys know that there’s an expectation and we need to keep that on them. It’s not that, `hey, everything’s OK, everything’s OK.’ It’s not OK and they know it,” Skiles said. “So far they have responded pretty well to that. They’ve taken some tough hits already in these games. If we can work through this, in theory, it will make us stronger.”
Tobias Harris scored 20 points and made a free throw with 30.6 seconds left to put Orlando up 88-86. From there, DeMar DeRozan sank one free throw and missed the second one. On the miss, the ball richocheted off Smith and then Harris, giving possession back to the Raptors.
But Orlando got the key defensive stop down the stretch and held on to win its first close game of the season.
Oladipo scored 18 points for Orlando, which shot 42.9 percent. The Magic held the high-scoring Raptors to 34.9 percent shooting.
Orlando was without standout center Nikola Vucevic because of a bone bruise in his right knee. The 7-foot center, who is averaging 15.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots, suffered the injury in the second half of Wednesday’s overtime loss in Houston. There is no firm timetable for Vucevic, but the big man said there was very little swelling in his leg and he walked without a limp on Friday morning.
Fournier came crashing back to earth on Friday night after playing two of the best games of his NBA career earlier in the week. He scored a career-best 30 points in Tuesday’s defeat of New Orleans and the came back a night later against Houston with 29 points. On Friday, he missed eight of his first nine shots and finished with just 11 points.
The Magic left not long after Friday’s home game for Philadelphia and will be back in action again on Saturday night against the 76ers. It will be Orlando’s fourth game in five nights – the only such stretch of the season because the NBA has worked to eliminate those grueling scenarios for teams.
Up 45-36 at the break following an encouraging first half of play, Orlando proceeded to give away its entire lead in 96 seconds by allowing the Raptors to score the first nine points of the third quarter. And by the time that Toronto extended its run to 19-4 – on 8 of 10 shooting — Skiles jerked his starting five out of the game in favor of reserves Shabazz Napier, C.J. Watson, Mario Hezonja, Aaron Gordon and Jason Smith.
Toronto had more baskets in the third quarter (12) than it did in the first half (10). The Raptors used a 33-19 bulge in the third quarter to take a 69-64 edge into the final 12 minutes.
Orlando was without Vucevic, but its defense proved to be even better in the first half with Dedmon protecting the rim. Active and aggressive in closing out to shooters and smothering drivers in the paint, Orlando held Toronto to 23.3 percent shooting in the first half and led 45-36 at intermission.
The Raptors came into the game averaging 106 points per game, but they couldn’t much offense at all in the early going. DeRozan, long a Magic killer, got off just one shot in the first 24 minutes, while Lowry connected on just three of his 11 tries.
Orlando’s defense has been much-improved this season, but it’s been off the charts with Dedmon on the floor. The leaping, snarling big man kept the Raptors away from the rim in the first half by swatting three shots and grabbing four rebounds.
And as an added benefit, Dedmon got Toronto big man Jonas Valunciunas in early foul trouble by properly sealing him from the glass. Toronto’s center, who signed a massive four-year contract extension over the summer, played just 5 minutes in the first half and had only one free throw.
Without Vucevic’s offense, Harris and Oladipo picked up the slack with 10 points apiece early on. Also, veteran forward Channing Frye shifted over to center and scored five points off the bench in the first half. Frye played in just one of the first five games because so many teams have started playing small forwards along the front line.
