This season has been one of opportunity.
OK, maybe every game is that to a certain extent. There are opportunities missed and opportunities gained. Chance to build off momentum and chances to squirt it away. The tried and true statement that basketball is a game of runs is pretty evidently true to the point of cliche.
Orlando’s early season has seen the team go in fits and starts. It has seen the team struggle to execute late in games. It has seen the team feel the frustration of poor late game execution and squandered opportunities to win. It is hard to say this team is not hungry to make the break through every fan of this team wants to see.
And so the moments where everything comes together — for a second straight night — even when the team is not at its complete best is a sign of encouragement. Lessons without losing is the word of the day.
Here is the lesson tonight: Magic 112, Timberwolves 103. An overtime win at Amway Center for the first home win of the year.
| Score | Off. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
| Minnesota | 103 | 94.9 | 45.2 | 18.4 | 11.9 | 25.8 |
| Orlando | 112 | 103.4 | 53.3 | 29.3 | 17.4 | 20.9 |
“I think two pretty impressive wins,” Jacque Vaughn said. “To be on the road in Philadelphia and we were down seven and not give into the moment and accept the challenge and come away with a win. To do the same thing tonight. Going down to a five-minute game, to hold them to 17 points in the fourth and for us to have the mindset to fight through that is pretty impressive.”
The Magic were not playing well defensively. They were turning the ball over again. Yet, they hung tough. They came together. They got the stops defensively they needed and found a way. It would have been easy to give in to that moment again.
The Magic traded the lead three times in the final three minutes of the game. They lost a lead and gave up four straight points. Orlando missed a 4-foot bank shot, a layup, a floater and a fastbreak layup (a block from Mo Williams on Devyn Marble after Maurice Harkless started a fast break with a steal at half court with 23.9 seconds left).
It does not matter how you do it, as long as you do it.
The Magic tied the game with Evan Fournier driving into the lane and finding Nikola Vucevic, who was fouled on the layup. His first free throw hit every part of the rim it could. His second hit the front iron and dropped in. Tie game.
And once that overtime started, the Magic dug deep and found the energy to complete, compete and finish.
The overtime was all Magic momentum it seemed. Aaron Gordon was the surprise catalyst scoring a dunk to kickstart the overtime and draining a corner 3-pointer to seal the win.
Gordon had a career-high 17 points, making both of his 3-pointers and six of his nine shots. He was a terror defensively too, taking Thaddeus Young out of the game at the end of it (Young finished 6 for 15, going 1 for 6 in the fourth quarter and overtime). It set the tone for the overtime period.
“The game of basketball is less fun to me if I’m not playing all out all the time,” Gordon said. “There is no point to me. It is just what I do. I really like that aspect.”
Gordon had plenty of help. Evan Fournier scored 11 of his 20 points in the first quarter. Tobias Harris had 17 points, grabbing 16 rebounds to support Nikola Vucevic who had his hands full defending Nikola Pekovic and keeping him off the glass. Vucevic finished with 14 points and nine rebounds. Elfrid Payton scored 15 points to go with four assists.
The Magic largely were fluid offensively. It felt like a matter of time for them to take control of the game. When a team shoots 50.5 percent from the floor, it always feels that way.
Except, of course, when a team turns the ball over. The Magic again struggled with turnovers, committing 21 for the game which turned into 19 Timberwolves points. The turnovers kept Minnesota in control of the game for the most part. Every Magic run seemed to come screeching to a halt thanks to a turnover or a string of missed opportunities.
And Minnesota was running its offense effectively, shooting 50.8 percent through three quarters.
That changed in the fourth. The Magic cut out the turnovers — three in the fourth and none in overtime — and locked down more on defense with everything set — the Timberwolves 8 for 30 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Here was a team suddenly locked in and executing at a high level.
Perhaps, finally.
“I think it’s important to see how we will react in overtime,” Harris said. “We bought into the defensive end and we got stops there. That’s why we were able to be successful offensively and get what we want. When you stop a team in overtime, it discourages them and we were mentally tough tonight just to get through that barrier and to get another victory.”
The Magic executed and built on the previous win. They played well and overcame their shortcomings once again. Wins, no matter how they come, are valuable for this team as they continue to gain confidence.