The Orlando Magic took a 14-point lead in the second half but could not hold off a late rally from Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers in a defeat.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| Trail Blazers | 23 | 23 | 31 | 35 | 112 |
| Magic | 25 | 30 | 30 | 18 | 103 |
The Orlando Magic were up 14 points midway through the third quarter, but could not extend their lead as the Portland Trail Blazers started to catch fire in the fourth quarter.
Damian Lillard knocked down a 3-pointer with about 8.5 minutes to go in the fourth to cut the lead down to eight. Lillard kept the 3-point barrage going, giving the Blazers a one-point lead and their first lead of the night about three minutes later.
Lillard scored 17 of his 33 points in the final 12 minutes, nearly outscoring the Magic on his own. Orlando scored just 18 points in the final quarter as they saw their lead evaporate.
With 35.5 seconds in the fourth quarter, C.J. McCollum went right for the easy dunk off the inbound play to ice the game, breaking Portland’s three-game losing streak. And continuing Orlando’s misery.
The Magic were a team in a bit of transition. They wasted no time integrating Terrence Ross, inserting him immediately into the starting lineup in his first game in a Magic uniform.
Ross scored 13 points, grabbed five rebounds, and threw a few flashy passes to set up scores and free throw (he recorded just one assist). Ross scored his first basket as a member of the Magic when Jeff Green found Ross coming off a screen and gave the ball to Ross to splash a 3-pointer that electrified the crowd.
Orlando controlled the game throughout the entire contest.
The Magic had a comfortable 55-46 lead at halftime as Nikola Vucevic had 13 points and Mario Hezonja had a surprising 10 points. The Magic scored 20 points off 15 Blazers’ turnovers. Orlando was taking advantage of Portland’s mistakes.
Those mistakes dried up as Lillard took over. The Magic’s offense began to stagnate and get frustrated, trying to force shots. Orlando could not keep pace as Lillard began to set fire to the team’s defense.