Orlando Magic Grades: Orlando Magic 96, Minnesota Timberwolves 93
The Orlando Magic continued playing some outstanding defense to take a 17-point lead. But they needed everything they had to hold off Minnesota’s late rally
96. 38. Final. 93. 86
The Orlando Magic aimed to start their five-game road trip with a win, and they did just that. Despite nearly blowing a 17-point lead, they held on and won 96-93 over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on Tuesday.
The team will not be happy with how they played in the final 18 minutes, but they are definitely feeling better after the game than they did after the first few games, where they squandered leads and ended up losing four of their first five.
As a factoid, the Magic have won four games in a row for the first time since December 2012, a streak that came crashing down when Glen Davis hurt his shoulder. Orlando is also now 10-8, two games over .500 this late in the season for the first time since the 2012 season (the last with Dwight Howard).
Essentially, this is the best the team has played since the rebuild began.
A-. <p><strong><a href=. G. Orlando Magic. VICTOR OLADIPO
<p><strong><a href=. PF. Orlando Magic. ANDREW NICHOLSON. B+
A-. <p><strong><a href=. PG. Orlando Magic. ELFRID PAYTON
B+. <p><strong><a href=. C. Orlando Magic. NIKOLA VUCEVIC
9th West. MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES. B. <p>The Minnesota Timberwolves had a rough first half offensively, but they came alive a bit in the second half. They also held the Magic to 42 points in the second half, as they clawed back into it.</p><p>They definitely held their own against a hot Magic team, and had a good chance to win the game. They played physically and drew 30 fouls, but ultimately, they could not overcome their poor shooting (29 for 77 from the field, 4 for 19 from three) and they lost.</p><p><strong><a href=. 8-10