The Orlando Magic rallied in the fourth quarter to push overtime and eventually defeat the Dallas Mavericks 110-104.
The game started looking like a night the Orlando Magic would dominate, all the pieces would fit together.
The game ended looking like a night the Orlando Magic would receive some redemption for their late-game woes.
The in between? That part is still a work in progress with new players entering the rotation, continued difficulties holding onto leads and consistency issues on defense. That part has not changed.
Except for maybe the final result.
Evan Fournier squeezed between two defenders and scored a layup with 12 seconds left to tie the game and force overtime after Aaron Gordon‘s heroic defensive effort against Dirk Nowitzki.
In overtime Victor Oladipo snapped out of his cold snap, scoring five straight points to break a tie and give the Magic a firm and sure lead in a 110-104 overtime win over the Dallas Mavericks at Amway Center on Friday.
| Score | Off. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas | 104 | 95.5 | 52.2 | 10.9 | 16.5 | 20.2 |
| Orlando | 110 | 102.3 | 46.6 | 26.4 | 11.2 | 16.7 |
Deron Williams (DAL) — 25 pts.; Zaza Pachulia (DAL) — 11 pts., 19 rebs.
Nikola Vucevic (ORL) — 21 pts., 12 rebs.; Brandon jennings (ORL) — 18 pts.
“The second group came in and picked us up,” Gordon said. “Ersan and Jennings, it’s good to have them. They played really well tonight. Victor played really well tonight. They picked us up, and they got us going. It’s a game of runs. There was a moment there where we couldn’t miss and then they couldn’t miss. We got down to the final stretch and then we grinded it out.”
The Magic came out strong behind the play of Victor Oladipo and Nikola Vucevic to build a 31-13 lead after the first quarter.
But, as is the case with NBA games, the Dallas Mavericks had some runs to make. It would take more than a 12-minute effort.
Scott Skiles said of the early lead it is rare teams are able to hold on to early leads. He cited the Magic’s comeback on the Atlanta Hawks as proof teams are often unable to maintain large early leads. Skiles said games are long and it is exceedingly rare for teams just completely run away from one another in the NBA.
Oladipo echoed these sentiments, and said the Magic simply have to keep believing in one another throughout games.
Oladipo and Vucevic combined for 19 points in the first quarter.
Oladipo hit a pair of three pointers and Vucevic worked the pick and roll nicely. Orlando looked like it was going to storm off to an easy victory. The defense was smothering and Dallas had trouble getting good looks at the bucket. Even Dirk Nowitzki was misfiring early.
But the second quarter belonged to Dallas. The Mavericks would outscore the Magic 38-25 in the period to pull within five points at the half. The Mavs began the quarter on a 12-3 run, prompting a Magic timeout at the 8:41 mark. The Magic would begin to bounce back, but Dallas tied the score 46 apiece on a Nowitzki jumper and Orlando knew it was in for the long haul at that point.
Dallas is a good veteran club that was just not going to fade after one strong quarter of basketball by the Magic.
The Magic’s two newcomers both had strong games. Ersan Ilyasova had 12 points in the first half on 4 of 9 shooting and Brandon Jennings hit 3 of 4 in the first half for eight points.
“Brandon stepped up and played great for us,” Oladipo said of the Magic’s newcomer. “I’m looking forward to seeing how this (the trade) works out.”
Vucevic scored just two points in the second quarter, while Oladipo faded and did not score again until the game’s final period of regulation.
The second half saw the Mavericks come out on a 16-6 run as Dallas built a 14-point lead eventually. The Magic closed the quarter on a 5-0 run, and the Magic came out strong to start the fourth quarter with another 5-0 spurt, cutting that lead to just four points.
Oladipo said the Magic have to keep playing and getting stops defensively to overcome leads such as the one Dallas built. If the team continues to buy in, the Magic will succeed.
“I didn’t feel any panic,” Skiles said about his team falling behind by double digits in the second half. “We got away from it in the first half. We got off to such a good start, and then we just kind of relaxed and we lost them in transition. They got the three ball going and once they got it going, it was hard to stop them. We made some suspect decisions defensively, leaving some shooters, things like that, but I didn’t feel like they were going to run away from us even when we went up two and missed four layups late.”
The defense was to improve, but the rest of the game was a battle. Brandon Jennings hit another three at around the 10-minute mark to pull Orlando with in three, and the Magic defense began to tighten up on Dallas again. The Mavericks built a small lead but Dallas failed to score a field goal in the game’s final 3:34 and it kept the door open for Orlando’s late-game antics.
Elfrid Payton got his shot blocked but followed the ball up and scored at the rim to pull Orlando within one as Dallas led 97-96.
Dallas would post Deron Williams up against Payton for its final possession of regulation, and Payton nearly came away with a steal but Dallas recovered and Raymond Felton missed a jumper that could have given the Mavericks the lead.
The Magic got the ball to Evan Fournier for its final possession and he got to the basket to tie the score at 98. The Mavericks would go to Dirk Nowitzki, but the 37 year old did not have any tricks in his bag, missing a 17-foot jumper which sent the game into overtime.
The Magic dominated the extra period. The first three minutes were relatively quiet as both teams managed just three points apiece, but Victor Oladipo and Evan Fournier got things going and Oladipo hit a three before scoring again on penetration to push Orlando ahead 106-101.
The Magic left the door open for Dallas before Aaron Gordon came up with a steal and scored on a lob from Fournier to put Orlando up 108-101 with 13 seconds remaining.
The Magic would hold on to win this one, getting an elusive victory with its newest cast members in the fold. It was a game of runs, of quarter domination, but the Magic executed well enough in overtime to secure victory.