Orlando Magic resilient to cover mistakes against Houston Rockets

The Orlando Magic gave up a double-digit fourth-quarter lead and had their defense on the ropes. Yet, the Orlando Magic found a way to win yet again.

The Orlando Magic’s final plays did not go how they probably wanted them.

Dwight Howard had pushed Nikola Vucevic to high on the screen and roll and Evan Fournier had to scramble to get the play moving. Down by one point and less than 30 seconds to play, it was imperative the Magic get something.

When Fournier got the ball, he was well out of range for the play the Magic had called, he had to create.

So he did what a good player does in this situation, he drove to the basket, trying to take advantage of Howard being so far from the basket to get to the rim. There was no outlet from Vucevic with him out of the play. He had to create.

Fournier drove to within four feet of the basket, blowing past Beverley and deftly laid the ball up and over Trevor Ariza off the glass and in to give the Magic a one-point lead.

Orlando had one more stop to get, something that proved difficult throughout the fourth quarter against Houston. James Harden drove into the lane and met resistance from Victor Oladipo and Nikola Vucevic. Harden tried lobbing to Howard but Howard tripped as Tobias Harris was able to tag Howard and prevent a clean catch.

The ball squirted to Trevor Ariza who missed the three. Elfrid Payton grabbed the rebound and the Magic secured a 104-101 victory over the Rockets at Amway Center on Wednesday.

	Score	Off. Rtg.	eFG%	O.Reb.%	TO%	FTR
Houston	101	109.2	53.6	22.5	11.9	20.5
Orlando	104	113.4	56.5	28.9	14.2	15.5

James Harden (HOU) — 31 pts., 7 assts.; Dwight Howard (HOU) — 12 pts.
Nikola Vucevic (ORL) — 21 pts.; Elfrid Payton (ORL) — 12 pts., 9 assts.

The Magic had some slippage and a shaky end for sure. But they found the poise to win. That is something that would have been foreign to this team last year.

“That’s what makes the difference,” Evan Fournier said. “You can’t be focused on what’s going on the other team. You have to execute, do your work and make the right play.”

It seems to be a recurring theme for the Magic. There is a little bit of slippage in some areas throughout the game, particularly on defense, and then the team has to scramble to get it back or the little bit of focused play is enough to sustain the lead and win it in the end.

The Magic were inconsistent defensively, giving up a first-quarter lead behind a 23-7 run to end the first quarter. That was largely behind James Harden who was able to get into the lane with ease and make some difficult shots. He also found Dwight Howard on a few lobs.

The bench unit then retook the lead and the energy carried into the third quarter. Orlando’s offense was moving and the team was able to cut behind the team or find open space thanks to dribble penetration.

The Magic built a 14-point lead and had a 13-point lead entering the fourth quarter behind a motion offense. They adjusted well to the Rockets going small and seemed ready to ease to a win over a dysfunctional and frustrated Rockets team.

Houston came back though as the defense regressed. And with Harden — 31 points, 12 -for-18 shooting — and Ty Lawson — 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting — that can be a dangerous formula.

Houston came back and took the lead before Fournier’s heroics and the Magic’s execution with their starting unit saved the day.

“Two things were happening: We were giving up a ton of penetration and at the same time we were standing and watching,” Skiles said. “The teams that go small and start switching everything, generally you can catch them ball watching and back cut them. We just kind of got away from it and struggled to get the ball into Vuc and when he did get it, we stood and watched instead of continuing our passing and cutting game. We’re fortunate to get it because momentum seemed to be going in their direction.”

Skiles said the Magic’s offense tended to get in trouble when they held the ball too long. Orlando had 26 assists on 44 field goals and have been most successful offensively when they move the ball like that. The Magic were adept when things were rolling and cutting into space and finding the man as he came through the lane.

Orlando shot 52.4 percent for the game with Vucevic scoring 21 points and Tobias Harris adding 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting. Fournier had 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting.

The Magic had a very efficient offensive night.

But the Rockets did too in shooting 49.4 percent and seeing Harden have such an efficient game (without getting to the foul line, something the Magic did a good job of preventing). The defense still needs some work and recommitment and focus.

Still, the Magic won the game. Something they likely would not be saying a year ago. It is another tally in that argument about this team and where it is situated as it enters Christmas.

“Obviously good, getting better,” Evan Fournier said. “I still think we can progress defensively. We have some lack of focus, myself included. We just have to stay focused for 48 minutes.”

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This is the quote of a team firmly expecting to win and not being completely satisfied when they do not win while playing their best. The Magic have not had their best at all times this year, but even then they find a way to win.

It may come back to bite them at some point and cost them. But this was a team still a little unsatisfied with how they are playing.

Right now the Magic are finding ways to win, digging deep and being resilient in the face of adversity.

Next: What is Channing Frye doing right?

“It says a lot about us, it says a lot about our team,” Tobias Harris said. “We know in the fourth quarter, we have to have great pace and great defense to win games. Tonight, we were able to get some stops at the end. Shots were falling for us, we made some great plays and we were able to get a victory.”