The Orlando Magic have been searching for their defense all season. They found it a bit late in the fourth quarter as they completed a comeback for a win.
The Philadelphia 76ers blitzed the Orlando Magic with a 10-0 run to start the game. They blitzed the Magic again in the second quarter to build a 17-point lead after the Magic had fought back.
Again, Orlando was a sieve. The Magic gave up 57 first-half points to one of the worst offensive teams in the league. This is not the team the Magic want to be.
Orlando worked itself back into the game on numerous occasions. And each time, the defense led the charge.
At long last in this difficult start of the season for the Magic, they started to look like the team Frank Vogel envisioned and sold when he arrived in Orlando.
The Magic got stops. They switched and swarmed defensively. They recovered and rotated to challenge shots at the rim. There were blocks and turnovers and shot clock violations. They were swarming and challenging the Sixers at every turn.
The moments where the Magic were playing at a high level defensively seemed to get longer. There would be no 18-point comeback in the second half with out that. There would be no 41-point third quarter without it.
The Magic finally realized their defensive potential.
The second-half comeback in particular and their defense in the fourth quarter showed exactly the kind of devastating defensive team they could be.
There they were switching, using Aaron Gordon interchangeably with Serge Ibaka. C.J. Watson (yes, C.J. Watson) was switching screens with Elfrid Payton. The Magic shut of the 76ers offense. This keyed a 9-0 run to bring the Magic back into the game, giving them a chance to win.
Coach David Adelman said in his halftime interview on FOX Sports Florida the Magic were being too reactive on defense. They began dictating the tempo more on defense. They got a little more physical. They tracked down the ball handler on pick and rolls a lot better. That helped close things down.
Defense, as it needs to be for the rest of the season, is what led the way.
Philadelphia had 16 turnovers leading to 18 Orlando points. The Magic finished with 19 fast-break points. They got into the paint, taking advantage of the Sixers’ poor transition defense and even their poor half-court defense. The Magic finally won that battle in the paint with 60 points.
Much of this flowed from their defense. Exactly how it was supposed to work.
As the Magic worked their way back into the game, it was always because of their defense. It sparked their offense to reach a new level and helped them pick up the pace. It increased the energy and urgency to come back.
Orlando is playing its most inspired basketball when the defense is locked in and getting stops.
Coach Frank Vogel said following the game the reality is team play better when they are making shots. It is hard to keep up the same defensive intensity and mentality. That has been as much a problem for the Magic in developing their defense as anything else.
Orlando got its offense moving in a real way Tuesday.
The Magic scored 41 points in the third quarter, including making their first 11 shots. They posted a 156.5 offensive rating.
But their defense that quarter was also not particularly good. The Magic made up their difference, but the 76ers were also scoring. They had 30 points.
No, it was the fourth quarter — much like the third quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday — that showed what this team can truly be.
The Magic scored only 19 points in the fourth quarter and still pulled out the win. In the final quarter, the 76ers had a 58.9 offensive rating and shot 5 for 19 from the floor with five turnovers. Orlando took it to Philadelphia while not shooting well themselves — 31.8 percent.
The fourth quarter proved the Magic can defend successfully even when the offense is not working perfectly.
Still, the Magic were at their best when they were making shots. They got their defense set, made some adjustment to keep Sergio Rodriguez out of the paint and to close out more effectively on Rodriguez and Dario Saric. Orlando’s defense just worked.
It seemed the Magic’s versatility finally paid off.
Things were not perfect. Far from it.
The Magic had moments where they were run out of the gym and were stretched too thin. Elfrid Payton got burned on pick and rolls. The team lost cutters and they ran free to the basket. Nikola Vucevic had trouble handling Joel Embiid and his physicality on the block.
Orlando fell behind by 18 points at one point. The defense was a big reason for that.
The Magic still have work to do to play at the level they want to play at. In the end, this is still the 76ers. They are an improved team, but they are not ready to compete for a whole lot yet. Their offense is as anemic as the Magic’s on some occasions.
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But again this is something for Orlando to build on. They found their drive to play great defense and use that to score a win.