Orlando Magic’s offensive display ekes out win over Philadelphia 76ers

The Orlando Magic put on a strong offensive performance, but left their defense out for three quarters, barely eking it out past the Philadelphia 76ers.

At some point the Orlando Magic were going to have to get down and get dirty to topple the Philadelphia 76ers. No matter how bad the 76ers might be talent-wise or how bad their record might say they are, they are still a team that can wreak havoc if any team sleepwalks against them.

Coach Scott Skiles probably recognized this potential before the game, telling his team it would be a must-win game if they wanted to get their Playoff push in gear. The Magic need to win these games against the teams beneath them in the standings.

The Magic were able to get their offense going, Nikola Vucevic working the ball well on the inside and making shots. It opened everything up for Orlando as the team forced turnovers and got on the break and made plays.

But that was just one side of the ball. That other side is pretty important too. And Skiles has tried to impress that on his team time and time again. The Magic’s defense was just not there. Not for three quarters at least.

After the Magic dusted off a 124-115 victory over the 76ers at Wells Fargo Arena on Tuesday, the formula was simple. The Magic just had to play defense, holding the 76ers to 22 points in the final quarter, getting turnovers and stops.

Nikola Vucevic (ORL) — 35 pts.; Aaron Gordon (ORL) — 11 pts., 11 rebs.
Ish Smith (PHI) — 22 pts.; Nerlens Noel (PHI) — 16 pts., 12 rebs.

Philadelphia was not going to get too many stops with the way the Magic were rolling. Victor Oladipo was knifing through the lane and scoring seemingly at will in the fourth quarter — 10 points with 5-for-5 shooting from the foul line. Vucevic was establishing good post position and scoring a lot of points. Evan Fournier was making shots and Aaron Gordon was flying.

One quarter of defense is fortunately enough to top the 76ers. Whether it will be enough to topple other teams — especially that team coming to Orlando on Thursday from the San Francisco Bay area — that is probably the bigger question.

This was a game the Magic left more relieved by a win rather than feeling good about picking up their fourth win in the past six games.

Yes, Nikola Vucevic scored a season-high 35 points and torched both Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor. He worked well in the post early on and established an early lead for the Magic to 11 points. Vucevic was always reliable for offense.

And the Magic got out in transition well. They forced 22 turnovers and had 20 fast-break points. Aaron Gordon was the recipient of a few of those in transition with Elfrid Payton making sharp passes to him in transition.

Evan Fournier was making shots too for 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting. And Oladipo got things going too with 22 points.

Orlando shot 48.2 percent as a team and got to the line for 35-for-41 shooting from the foul line. Philadelphia’s defense was as sloppy as anything else, allowing Orlando to be a sieve and still compete and control the game.

There should be few complaints about the offense. It was on defense where things began to fall off the rails. Really fell off the rails from the midpoint of the first quarter.

The 76ers, the worst offensive team in the league, hit 54.4 percent of their shots and 10 of 21 from beyond the arc.

The Magic were reckless defensively. They were getting beat on pick and rolls with Ish Smith and T.J. McConnell getting into the lane really at will. Oladipo, Fournier and Payton were digging in on the post to give up 3-point shots and the often-struggling Sixers burned them from out there.

The Magic defense had no answers and could not tighten things up until the fourth quarter. Philadelphia’s confidence only grew and they were on the attack. Even this Philadelphia team can be strong when the team plays with that attitude and attacks off the dribble.

It took some energy from Oladipo and Vucevic in the fourth quarter to turn things around. Oladipo created a few turnovers and got out in transition. The Magic quickly expanded their tenuous four-point lead out to double digits and were poised to hang on.

Philadelphia’s herky-jerky play always gave them a chance to stay in the game if they can make shots. That rare occasion came Tuesday. Still, the Magic provided little resistance. When they did, the 76ers struggled and turned the ball over.

Orlando forced its way to the foul line and finally took advantage of Philadelphia’s inexperience and lack of precision to secure a win.

The win is about the only thing the team can feel good about though. Everything else was imprecise, particularly on defense where the team was beginning to show some improvement.

Orlando got the win in the end. All that matters and all anyone will care about when things are all said and done.

Next: Evan Fournier's importance to the Orlando Magic

It was hardly the performance the Magic wanted or needed. It was just enough.