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Orlando Magic Player Grades: Indiana Pacers 106 Orlando Magic 99

By Zach Palmer

Jan 25, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic forward Channing Frye (8) reacts with a referee after being called for a foul against the Indiana Pacers in the second half at Amway Center. Indiana Pacers defeated the Orlando Magic 106-99. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 25, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic forward Channing Frye (8) reacts with a referee after being called for a foul against the Indiana Pacers in the second half at Amway Center. Indiana Pacers defeated the Orlando Magic 106-99. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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38. 106. 100. Final. 99

The Magic don’t grade out too well as they once again allow a poor offensive team to shred their defense.

The Magic still have not figured it out on defense allowing the Pacers to score 106 points on 51 percent shooting.

Nikola Vucevic once again put up gaudy points numbers but his defensive play left the Magic reeling.

Conversely the bench actually held their own tonight including some stalwart defense.

B-. <p style=. C. Orlando Magic. NIKOLA VUCEVIC

B+. <p>Gordon got the first start of his young NBA career and he took advantage. Gordon’s vocal communication helped Orlando’s defense tremendously early on but unfortunately it couldn’t be sustained. Gordon had a pair of highlight plays including a chase down block and an ally-oop from Tobias Harris. More importantly Gordon sank one of his two corner threes and converted both of his free throw attempts.</p>. SF. Orlando Magic. AARON GORDON

SG. Orlando Magic. VICTOR OLADIPO. C. <p>Oladipo ended up scoring 18 points, but it took him 17 shots to do so. Oladipo needs to do a much better job of picking his spots on offense. There are too many cases of him pulling up for a contested two-point jumper and tonight was no different.</p><p>On the other side of the ball, Oladipo has got to improve defensively. I am not sure what happened to Victor over the summer but his defense has regressed significantly since the end of last season. Maybe it is too much offensive wear and tear but if that’s the case the Magic should consider lessening his offensive burden.</p>

ORLANDO BENCH. A-. <p>The bright spot of this game no doubt for the Magic was their bench unit. The unit of Willie Green, Evan Fournier, Devyn Marble, Tobias Harris and Kyle O’Quinn did a great job.</p><p>Offensively, they did not explode, but they did a few things that were worth noting. On offense, this unit showed more off ball action than I have seen all year. At one point in the fourth quarter, the Magic ran their offense through Kyle O’Quinn which honestly was long overdue.</p><p>Defensively, this unit did a fantastic job of forcing turnovers and holding the Pacers to one shot in most cases. I do not think the Magic have figured out their defensive problems but this unit is an example for the Magic to follow.</p>. None. Orlando Magic

INDIANA PACERS. A. <p>We have gotten to the point in Orlando’s futility where I feel like we are grading on a curve. The Pacers absolutely outplayed the Magic especially on the boards where they defeated the Magic by 14. The Pacers definitely showed resiliency by fighting off their seven-game losing streak and Damjen Rudez deserves a huge heap of praise as he scored 15 points in the fourth quarter tonight.</p>. Team. Indiana Pacers

Next: The Magic defense was a letdown again