The Orlando Magic needed to rally from 17 points down to topple the Philadelphia 76ers in a spirited and energetic second half for back to back wins.
Terrence Ross needed a bucket. The Magic’s new acquisition had missed shot after shot throughout the game. His misses were of every variety — short, in and out and even wide. He could not get one to go down despite good look and rhythm shots throughout.
Frank Vogel was going to go to him. The Philadelphia 76ers’ aggressive defense was sitting on Evan Fournier after several turnovers down the stretch. The Magic needed to go to their new acquisition for some support.
Running through two screens along the baseline Ross curled open near the 3-point line and took that familiar stroke without any defender nearby. His shot nestled inside the basket for a 106-104 lead with about 35 seconds left. It gave the Magic the lead for good.
They got the last few stops they needed down the stretch. And, despite shooting 4 for 15 from the floor, Ross was the hero in a 112-109 overtime victory over the 76ers at Amway Center on Monday.
He was one of many heros for a team that had to dig in desperately to come back and score back to back wins for the first time since Dec. 26.
The Magic were slow and sluggish coming out of the locker room and fell behind by as much as 17 points in the second quarter. Philadelphia, playing with just nine active players, took control of the game, attacking the paint at will. It did not seem the Magic would have the energy to fight back.
Orlando found the plays to dig out loose balls and get blocked shots to storm back. Whether it was Bismack Biyombo meeting a player at the rim or Elfrid Payton climbing from the weak side, the Magic were suddenly the aggressors in the game.
The crowd finally got behind the team as the comeback became real in the fourth quarter. The Magic made the winning plays they needed to. At least, largely. Philadelphia came back with big shots of its own to tie the game after Orlando looked like it might pull away late in the fourth quarter.
There are still lessons to learn. And the 76ers, depleted as they are, are not a team to write home about.
Still, a win is a win. And to get this win, the Magic had to do a lot of really good things that should translate to the kind of culture the team wants to build the rest of this season.