Magic Get Big First Quarter From Evan Fournier, Sneak By Knicks 97-95

After losing a fourth quarter lead and game to Toronto the night before, the Magic came back with a 97-95 defeat of the New York Knicks. It was an odd game, to say the least. The Magic needed this win after a double-digit lead in the second half and strong first half performances from Tobias Harris and Evan Fournier. Both Orlando and New York went through numerous hot and cold spells in the second half, but it was Orlando’s 12-2 run late in the fourth quarter to push them ahead and give them their third win of the season.

The first quarter was the Evan Fournier show for Orlando. As soon as he separated from Shane Larkin for a wide open three for his first basket of the game, I knew that Evan was on pace for a good game. The Knicks went with Iman Shumpert on Elfrid Payton, allowing Fournier to just run the opposing guard (from Shane Larkin to J.R. Smith) through some screens to eventually get some wide open shots. Fournier finished with 15 of Orlando’s 31 points, leading the charge early for the Magic. Fournier’s defense wasn’t great (Iman Shumpert scored eight points in the first quarter with Fournier defending him), but he gave led the charge for Orlando early.

From Evan Fournier to Tobias Harris, Orlando found themselves yet again carried by a single player in a quarter. In the second quarter, Harris scored 10 of Orlando’s 25 points, but it was the way he got his points that pushed Orlando offensively. Harris was extremely aggressive in the second quarter, getting two and-one plays, including an excellent attack and finger roll for the second one. Inside and outside, Harris worked and got some quality shots, making all four of his field goal attempts in the quarter. Nikola Vucevic also woke up in the second quarter. The six points were good, but it was the five rebounds, getting extremely physical with Amar’e Stoudemire and the rest of New York’s frontline.

The Magic lead 56-50 going into the third.

The third quarter saw the Magic jump out to an early 10-point lead, but after those quick four points, Orlando went ice cold for the remainder of the quarter, finishing with just 18 points on 33% shooting. Evan Fournier went cold in the quarter, Tobias Harris wasn’t in rhythm for much of the second half, and Orlando’s offense continued to flounder as the quarter continued, settling for bad shots. The defense began to flounder as well. New York found a rhythm offensively. The extra passes from New York continued to haunt Orlando, and Iman Shumpert’s eight third quarter points pushed New York to a lead going into the fourth.

The one thing Orlando did well in this quarter was force fouls on key players. The Magic forced just six personal fouls in the quarter, but four of them were important to Orlando’s fourth quarter success. The first was getting Carmelo Anthony out of the game. Anthony received his fourth quarter with 4:08 left in the third quarter. It forced less of Anthony and more of J.R. Smith. The second player was Iman Shumpert. Shumpert got his fourth foul with 3:25 left in the third quarter. Shumpert did an excellent job as a two-way player and pushing him to the bench removed New York’s best perimeter defender off the floor.

The fourth quarter was a back and forth matchup, but it wasn’t all that memorable. Channing Frye abused New York’s defense, highlighted by a drive from the three-point line to the rim that resulted in a dunk. After taking the last two quarters off, Evan Fournier returned with six point and backup guard Luke Ridnour did well leading the charge, making the extra pass, and forcing someone to defend him, something Elfrid Payton failed to do for most of the game.

Some notes

• Elfrid Payton didn’t play that well. Against the Knicks, the Magic actually benefitted from Luke Ridnour being out there and getting capable jumpers as well as spacing the floor. Payton finished with eight assists and three rebounds, but the offense looked much better with Ridnour on the floor.

• Nikola Vucevic had an unbalanced game. On one hand, Vucevic had a productive stateline: 20 points, 13 rebounds and two assists. On the other, Jason Smith gave him some trouble, forcing him to move away from the basket to defend. He was solid, but I can’t recall a moment where I thought he was having the best game for Orlando.

• I actually wish Aaron Gordon play more in this game. Offensively, Gordon looked poor. He was open, but was scared to shoot, highlighted by his hesitation on his only make of the game. Defensively, I love him. He hustles. During the draft process, Gordon was getting Shawn Marion comparisons, and in this game, you can see them. He was active against Carmelo, Stoudemire, and even helped against Shumpert.

• Channing Frye is still figuring out his role in this offense. The problem, from my untrained eye, is that it seems like the Magic aren’t creating too many threes. Once Frye gets more comfortable in the offense and Orlando looks to force and create more three-point opportunities, Frye is going to give Orlando a great look.