The Orlando Magic played better on Thursday and even took a late lead on a 3-pointer by Jerome Randle. Still, it was not enough to defeat the Thunder, who were playing without James Harden, Eric Maynor, Serge Ibaka and D.J. White. The Magic, who immediately relinquished that one-point lead, cut the deficit to one with under 30 seconds to go but Mustafa Shakur capped his 21-point performance with a game-clinching 3-pointer with just 6.5 seconds to go.
After the jump, you can get some of my thoughts from the game.
- Daniel Orton wasn’t anything to write home about but he did have his best game of the week on Thursday. Orton scored 4 points on 2-of-6 shooting and grabbed 4 rebounds. During warm-ups, he was consistently hitting a jumper from around the free throw line. He took the shot twice during the game, once missing it to the left and once putting it right through the basket.
- Orton was also more active but was still very quiet and still looks lost on the court.
- Stanley Robinson had some miscues Thursday including letting a rebound slip right through his hands and turning the ball over on a double dribble during a two-minute stretch, but he still showed some flashes of a player who can play in this league.
- Robinson finished with 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 assists in just 12 minutes.
- Paul Davis had another good game off the bench. The big man out of Michigan State scored 15 points on 7 shots and grabbed 5 rebounds.
- Jeff Adrien is one intimidating looking guy – he has a Brandon Bass build – plus he’s a pretty good player. Adrien scored 8 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.
- Donell Taylor led the Magic with 18 points and he was much more efficient than he was earlier in the week, going 6-of-11 from the field. Taylor also grabbed 7 rebounds and had 2 assists.
- Taylor said the team “just went out there and played ball” when asked about the team’s improved performance Thursday.
- Taylor said he doesn’t just focus on one facet of his game – he think he brings a little bit of everything to the table.
- Joe Crawford was also 6-of-11 from the field and followed up his 29-point game Wednesday with a 17-point showing Thursday.
- After the game, Crawford said the team “really wants to win” to avoid finishing the week 0-5.
- Crawford is happy with the way he has played but said “I always can play a lot better.”
- Crawford thinks his best asset to an NBA team is scoring but added, “I also think I have good defense.”
- As for the Thunder, Mustafa Shakur could be a nice third point guard. As my radio co-host Charlie Bernstein first said, Shakur is the type of guy the Magic should be looking for as their third point guard.
- Former Florida State Forward Ryan Reid scored 12 points in 19 minutes and showed some pretty good range. Most thought he was a huge reach at 57 (and I agreed), but there might be a spot for him in this league.
- Patrick Ewing Jr. took just 3 shots and look like he made a point of trying to make better decisions.
- Randle did hit a huge 3 but he was 1-of-8 on the day.
- Kevin Durant was not in attendance.
The summer league will wrap up on Friday. The first game gets underway at 8:00 am EST. The Magic will play the Charlotte Bobcats at approximately 2:00 pm EST.
(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger and a contributor on the Fansided Front Page. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Twitter to follow him daily and you can get the HTD app here).