Orlando Magic display their grit, grinding out Utah Jazz

The Orlando Magic did not have their best stuff for the first half. The defense kicked in during the second and they ground out the Utah Jazz on the road.

The Utah Jazz were hitting every 3-pointer, still the Achilles heel of a defense that collapses the paint and tries to close out hard, and the Orlando Magic were struggling to get stops. The offense flowed, but was slowing down.

The Jazz had the game for the taking if they could keep hitting their shots and clean up their turnovers. This was not Orlando’s best game.

The defense clicked in though. Utah could not get a shot inside the paint to fall and fell to the mean from beyond the arc. Orlando saw that little crack and burst through.

The Magic started making plays — whether it was Nikola Vucevic challenging a shot and Victor Oladipo crashing down to challenge and grab the rebound or Evan Fournier pulling up for three or Elfrid Payton driving and pushing the pace in transition.

The Jazz could not crack the Magic, giving up an 11-3 run in the middle of the fourth quarter they could not recover from. Fournier had big shots, Oladipo had big defense and the Magic won their fifth straight game 103-94 over the Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Thursday.

Tobias Harris (ORL) — 17 pts.; Nikola Vucevic (ORL) — 16 pts., 8 rebs.
Gordon Hayward (UTA) — 24 pts.; Derrick Favors (UTA) — 12 pts., 10 rebs.

Orlando was not at its best for much of the game on the defensive end. The Jazz were able to penetrate into the lane and kick out. The Magic were a bit late to close out and the shooting showed it.

Utah hit 14 of 33 3-pointers, one 3-point make shy of tying the team record. Gordon Hayward got things started with 16 points in the first quarter, making six of seven shots.

The Magic led, but they were clearly digging out of something of a defensive hole. Their fouling problems and late defensive rotations allowed the Jazz to build a lead.

Again, Orlando did not fold. The Magic came out of the locker room and took control.

In the second half, Utah scored only 37 points and made just 30.3 percent of their shots. They made as many 3-pointers (5) as 2-point field goals. The Jazz committed 10 second-half turnovers.

In total, Orlando scored 17 fast-break points. The team kept pushing and finding ways to get stops and turn them into offense.

That helped the Magic finally take control in the fourth quarter.

The Magic kept getting stops and kept scrambling to make every shot in the paint difficult. In the second half, the Jazz shot just 2 for 10 at the rim.

It took a while for the Magic to answer back though. As much as the offense flowed to keep Orlando in it in the first half, the offense struggled to get itself going in the second.

Like on defense though, Orlando kept grinding. The team got out in transition when it could and then it got the offensive efficiency to increase. Once that first shot fell, it seemed everything opened up. The Magic offense kept going and the defense led the way with its effort and energy.

Andrew Nicholson hit back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the fourth quarter to give the Magic the lead for good. They came off pick and rolls as Nicholson popped out after spending so much time trying to post up the smaller Joe Ingles throughout the fourth quarter. Nicholson finished with 14 points.

Then Elfrid Payton pushed the pace at the Jazz — they committed 21 total turnovers in the game — and scored himself before finding Evan Fournier for back-to-back 3-pointers.

Now the Magic had answers as it seemed everyone was contributing something to the team at the end. Payton finished with 14 points and seven assists. Fournier finished with 14 too, as he fought through foul trouble.

Then Oladipo dug out a loose ball, diving on the floor to save the possession. The Magic helped ice the game by forcing a five second violation on the inbounds.

Everyone seemingly came together to secure the win.

The determination to pick up that fifth win in a row was apparent. Orlando did not have its best game by any stretch. What was most important was the team found it in the second half. They apparently found it on their own. Players said after the game they discussed their first-half errors in the locker and knew what they needed to fix.

That application helped the Magic gut out a win and continue their win streak. They continue to impress with their determination and their buy-in to their principles. The results are matching the process.

Impressively, they won without their best stuff for much of the night and still found a way. That is progress in its own way.

Next: Orlando Magic Daily Podcast with Brett Roberts

There is no arguing with the results right now as the team continues to find ways.