Orlando Magic’s leaders take ownership to topple rival Miami Heat

The Orlando Magic’s leaders were frustrated and embarrassed Saturday against the Dallas Mavericks. They mad sure to respond with a win Monday.

Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier are the stalwarts in the Orlando Magic locker room. They are the two longest-tenured players on the team and, for the most part, their best players. Or at least the players with the most impact.

That might be a bit unfair to them considering the Magic’s long-term goals.

Neither Nikola Vucevic nor Evan Fournier are All Stars. And they are both still young with little winning experience. It seems hard to know when they should take over or exactly how they should or will lead the team.

Through no fault of their own — or anyone’s on the roster — the entire team has to play with a small margin for error on most nights. There are not many moments the team can falter. Orlando can pick itself up together or it can bring each other down.

There have been few players who have taken those down moments harder than Vucevic and Fournier. After games, they dutifully face the media as good leaders do and vent their frustrations, calmer than most would.

Vucevic said after Saturday’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks the team should be embarrassed with its performance. Fournier has said on repeated occasions the most frustrating thing to him is how let down he feels by his and his team’s performance. He truly believed they had enough to make the Playoffs.

To be here with this season seemingly falling off the rails is not just shocking, it is frustrating and disappointing. No one has seemed able to stop it. And maybe that says more about the team’s best players and the faith the organization put in them to take a step forward in their careers.

That is a bigger question than can get answered more than halfway through the season. The real question is how the Magic would respond.

Orlando Magic

The question Monday night would get answered by how the team responded. Specifically the team’s leaders. Would they work together and play with intensity and communication? And who would lead the way?

The onus fell to Nikola Vucevic to help set the tone early in the Magic’s 116-107 win over the Miami Heat. He gobbled up rebounds and outworked leading rebounder Hassan Whiteside around the basket.

Vucevic spent most of his time in Orlando as an offensive maven and rebounder, but not much of a defender. He was he anchor for the Magic defensively Monday night. Vucevic was in position to cut off penetration while hanging back to stay in contact with Whiteside. He received the help he needed on the weak side to roam more.

It was not always perfect, nothing was for the Magic in giving up 107 points. But Vucevic was the strongest player for the Magic defensively, repelling drives into the paint and keeping the Heat on the perimeter. When they did try to lob it toward the rim or work an interior pass, he used his hands to deflect it — he had two deflections.

But the team was much more active in the passing lanes and disrupting the team. It is safe to say this was the best 4-for-14 shooting performance in Vucevic’s career.

That energy worked its way through the roster. Vucevic did not score and was missing some easy shots, but he kept up his intensity and energy. This is something that has been missing throughout his career.

Vucevic has been significantly better defensively this year. And when he brought this energy to the game the rest of the team followed.

The same could be said for Evan Fournier’s shot making. Fournier picked up the slack offensively playing with a fire and energy that has rarely been seen.

Orlando is at its best when the team moves the ball. Often that means it ends in Fournier’s hands. He is not always the distributor. But Fournier benefits most when he attacks off passes and catches the ball on the move.

Fournier scored 24 points on 10-for-17 shooting. He hit the big shots at the end of the game, darting through the lane and, in the back-breaking score, coming around a screen and firing from beyond the arc. Fournier was as dialed in as anyone.

Both he and Vucevic played with a fire and energy the team desperately needed. They took the big loss Saturday to heart and did not allow it to repeat.

Yes, 30-point losses have become far too commonplace. And the Magic have responded well after those defeats. One of those wins was the double-overtime win over the Heat following a 30-point loss to the Toronto Raptors at home. The Magic responded to a 30-point loss to the Boston Celtics by defeating the Raptors at Air Canada Centre.

As has been the case all year, Orlando has the capability to play well and beat just about anybody. Performances like Monday’s win over the Miami Heat should be normal.

Orlando was far from perfect. The Heat came back on several occasions. The Magic gave up runs to keep this game close in the second and third quarters when it looked like they were about to pull away.

But this was much closer to the effort and intensity Orlando needs nightly. This is the way the Magic are supposed to play.

They needed some better guidance and emotion to get there.

Orlando got that from its two longest-tenured players. The Magic may not always be able to get that from Vucevic and Fournier. That just may not be who they are as players.

But they took that loss Saturday personally. In many ways, it feels like they have taken the frustration of this season personally.

Orlando got some leadership from those two players. They at least got some added energy from these two leaders.

Next: Grades: Orlando Magic 116, Miami Heat 107

Consistency remains the issue. Will the team play with this same edge and intensity without the anger of an embarrassing loss? That has been the question for the entire season.