Value of Magic’s Aaron Gordon Seen as Kawhi Leonard Slow Cooks Magic
The Orlando Magic were without one of their better, bigger perimeter defenders as Kawhi Leonard slow-cooked the Magic and ended the game in San Antonio.
103. 38. Final. 110. 29
In the keys to Wednesday night’s 110-103 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, the second aspect was containing Kawhi Leonard, but the absence of rookie forward Aaron Gordon may have made things easier on the Spurs multidimensional swingman.
Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard found ways against smaller defenders and closed out the Magic with two free throws, part of his 18 points on an ultra efficient 7-of-9 shooting. Leonard also keyed several breakaways for the Spurs, coming up with four steals, while also driving a 19-3 Spurs run through the late first and early second quarters which resulted in the Spurs outscoring the Magic 36-10 in that period.
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Evan Fournier just does not have the strength nor lateral speed to stop Lenoard’s penetration, and he had plenty of help from Tony Parker, Danny Green, Manu Ginobili, Marco Belinelli and, even, Patty Mills. The Spurs’ depth renders their second unit arguably better than the Magic’s starting five, and certainly more experienced.
Next: The Spurs' bench