Magic Defense Shines as Orlando Downs Celtics 103-98
By Zach Palmer
The Orlando Magic got a big lift from their defense tonight as they defeated the Boston Celtics 103-98.
38. Final. 98. 18. 103
The Orlando Magic wore their pride jerseys tonight and it ended up being more poetic than anybody could have imagined.
The Magic went down by as many as 20 in the second quarter but turned it around behind their commitment to defense.
Without Nikola Vucevic, the Magic started center Dewayne Dedmon and Channing Frye down low and early on it was not effective. Frye was getting absolutely blasted by former Magic power forward Brandon Bass and as a result was benched, seeing only 16:20 on the floor.
James Borrego frantically searched for an effective rotation at one point stating in the huddle “We’ve only got 10 guys available tonight, if you show me you want to play defense then you’re going to play tonight.”
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Enter Maurice Harkless. Harkless entered the game with 8:52 left in the second quarter and his presence was immediately felt. On his first defensive possession, Harkless poked the ball loose from Tyler Zeller leading to a Tobias Harris steal and then turned around a got a quick basket on offense. From 8:52 left in the second quarter to halftime the Magic went on a 22-10 run with Harkless in the game. That cut the deficit to a more manageable six points.
Now with Borrego preaching accountability on defense, Borrego ended up going with Harkless to start out the second half, and it paid off big for the Magic. The Magic ran with the lineup of Payton-Oladipo-Harkless-Harris-Dedmon for the majority of the second and third quarters, and it saw Orlando take the lead.
At the end of three quarters the game was all tied at 69.
The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth battle all the way through and the key ended up being a decision made by interim coach James Borrego.
At the 3:05 mark in the fourth quarter James Borrego elected to take out Dewayne Dedmon and put in Aaron Gordon in an effort to be able to switch more easily on defense. The Magic ran with the lineup of Payton-Oladipo-Harkless-Harris-A.Gordon on defense for most of the next two minutes and it led Orlando to victory. The Magic took a 12-0 run to take the lead for good and get some comfort as well.
Tonight the Magic found their pride and came away with a hard fought win.
Game Notes:
- Tobias Harris looked a lot more comfortable defending fours tonight. Remember that on Friday he was torched by Rudy Gay for 39 points.
- This may have been the single best game of Maurice Harkless’ career. His hands were active and he made virtually no mistakes on defense.
- Dewayne Dedmon might be a legitimate starting NBA center. Dedmon will not blow you away on offense but his hustle, ability to crash the boards, and defensive activity level are all above average skills. Most important stat — Dedmon did not commit a foul.
- Victor Oladipo went off in the second quarter tonight, scoring 11 of his 22 points. Coincidentally that was when Marcus Smart was not defending him.
- Speaking of Marcus Smart…. He is really good. I mean wow. Orlando has done well with Elfrid Payton but this Smart/Payton battle will be a blast to watch in the future.
- Elfrid Payton made a couple jumpers tonight. In the post game interview he was asked about them, his reply? “Yeah, um, Jesus…”. There’s more to that quote but I think that sums it up pretty well.