Orlando Magic Grades: Minnesota Timberwolves 111, Orlando Magic 105

The Orlando Magic seemed to have the game wrapped up. They failed to get the stop and failed to show up in overtime as the Minnesota Timberwolves sneaked by.

VS.

	1	2	3	4	OT1	T
Magic	23	28	28	19	7	105
Timberwolves	26	26	28	18	13	111

Aaron Gordon seemed to have put the Orlando Magic win away. He scrapped for the ball on an offensive rebound and finished through contact for an and-one and a two-point lead with 50 seconds left.

The Magic would not score again. Nikola Vucevic committed a travel on the next possession after getting a rebound. Then Andrew Wiggins got around a screen and drained a jumper over Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic to send the game to overtime.

Orlando failed to get a shot on its final possession with 10 seconds left. Elfrid Payton, clearly frustrated over a busted play, had to heave a contested 3-pointer that barely grazed the backboard.

The Magic would go to overtime and the wind would escape them.

Wiggins had things rolling and kept attacking the Magic defense. Meanwhile, Orlando’s offense lost its togetherness as the team tried desperately to get to the basket and struggled to draw much iron. Orlando had just one field goal in the overtime.

That is going to be tough to get any wins in.

The Magic got the game back down to three points, but Payton split a pair of free throws and the Timberwolves iced the game at the foul line. Nikola Vucevic missed a wide-open 3-pointer and Evan Fournier, playing for the first time in eight games, missed a put back and the Wolves ran out the clock.

Orlando could not complete a nine-point comeback from midway in the fourth quarter, succumbing to Ricky Rubio‘s sudden 3-point barrage and Andrew Wiggins finding his star turn with stellar playmaking down the stretch.

The Magic played with the effort to get a chance at consecutive wins for the first time since Christmas.

It turned into a disappointing game. The Magic had a winnable game and a chance to build some momentum to keep their fading Playoff hopes on life support. Maybe that is a futile hope anyway. Talks of playing a good effort game are talks of a team tanking anyway.

The Magic simply failed to execute in the end, giving the Timberwolves too many opportunities to beat them.

B-. Elfrid Payton still is a great engine for the Orlando Magic offensively. He was aggressive attacking the basket and made some nice plays going to the hoop. Payton scored a team-high 21 points. He continues to show confidence attacking the basket and trying to score. That should continue for him.Undoubtedly, though, the attention is going to get put on that final play. And Payton did not do a good job calming his team down after that. It appeared the play was for Payton to attack off a pick and roll going right with 10 seconds left. Instead, he sheepishly waited and waited and had to hoist a contested three. It was not ideal. And the Magic fell apart from there.It may have been part of the gameplan, but Payton also left Ricky Rubio open for 3-pointers a lot. Rubio scored 22 points, making six of nine 3-pointers. That was a big reason the Timberwolves came back in the game and eventually gave Andrew Wiggins the room to win it.. PG. Orlando Magic. ELFRID PAYTON

NIKOLA VUCEVIC. C. Nikola Vucevic’s game was something of a mixed bag after his strong performance overall Sunday night. Vucevic scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. He made just 5 of 15 shots and struggled to get things going, particularly in the first half. Vucevic got things going and helped the magic get back into the game in the fourth quarter.But his game was largely one of frustration. The traveling call in the fourth quarter to set up Andrew Wiggins’ game-tying field goal sticks out. But he also got beat on the offensive glass, once having the ball taken out of his hands by <a rel=. C. Orlando Magic

C+. <a rel=. PF. Orlando Magic. SERGE IBAKA

Expectations for Evan Fournier were fairly low coming back from that heel injury that had bothered him for some time. He may not have been sharp. And he was decidedly not sharp to being the game.Fournier finished with nine points on 4-for-11 shooting. He missed his first five shots and looked really rusty. It was clear he was getting more comfortable as the game went on. He was more aggressive with his attacks and made baskets. Even early in the game, his driving and passing back to the perimeter were benefits to the team.Defensively, Fournier was clearly rusty. Andrew Wiggins did a good job exploiting him. It was clear Fournier was not quite up to speed. But it is good to see him back out there. And the Magic will be better for having him out on the floor.. SG. Orlando Magic. EVAN FOURNIER. B-

B. The Minnesota Timberwolves are still an incredibly young team. It is clear they still make a ton of mistakes. They lost a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter and gave the Magic a chance to win the game. They turned the ball over a lot and fell apart. They even gave up a 7-0 run to start the second half to give Orlando some control.The Timberwolves are still an incredibly talented team. And that talent shined through in the end. Andrew Wiggins got things going on his way to 27 points, including that game-tying jumper. Ricky Rubio hit timely 3-pointers to keep the Timberwolves in the game in the third quarter. Rubio his six 3-pointers.Minnesota had the better players in the end and made the plays that mattered. . 19-29. 12th West. MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES