Orlando Magic Grades: Orlando Magic 103, San Antonio Spurs 98

The Orlando Magic trusted their starters to get a victory over the San Antonio Spurs. They delivered and seem on track for the regular season.

38. Final. 98. 29. 103

The Orlando Magic are making winning a credo this season. The only way to win is to get that experience in real games. No matter the opponent. Every bit of confidence matters.

So as San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich took out his regular players at the end of Tuesday’s preseason game at AT&T Center, Orlando Magic coach Frank Vogel put his starters back in. He was going to see his group of Elfrid Payton, Aaron Gordon, Jonathon Simmons, Mario Hezonja and Bismack Biyombo finish this game.

For as much as a preseason game can matter, the Magic were essentially telling their starting lineup to win this game. If they did not, maybe that would be a sign of concern. Or maybe it would be meaningless.

We may never know. The Magic took care of business.

Jonathon Simmons totaled a couple of assists to Bismack Biyombo for open dunks to help the Magic take the lead and hold on. Elfrid Payton recorded a steal and raced down for a game-clinching dunk. The Spurs missed some open 3-pointers from Bryn Forbes and the Magic recorded a 103-98 win.

It is hard to judge too much from this game with many of Orlando’s starters out. But going up against the Spurs’ regular players, the Magic played a composed offensive game with the starters.

Payton controls the pace of the game better than anyone on the team. Aaron Gordon was flashing what should have everyone excited about what he could become. Simmons was patient and composed on the ball, distributing it as well as scoring. Even Mario Hezonja was calm and collected on the ball, not forcing any shots.

Biyombo was hitting jumpers — or “laser-2s” as Vogel described them.

The Magic were not as clean defensively. They gave up their share of penetration on ball reversals and still seemed to give up the weakside 3-pointer. The Magic still have work to do on the defensive end.

And the bench struggled mightily once again. The team struggled to get much going with the reserves until the fourth quarter. Wesley Iwundu and Arron Afflalo hit some key shots and Khem Birch provided some nice energy to help the Magic close the gap.

That is when the starters could take over and finish the job, picking up a nice morale win.

That feeling is starting to rise with Aaron Gordon. It is not something we can say for certain or with any kind of definiteness. But Gordon is starting to look like he has taken a fairly large leap in his game. The Orlando Magic were able to dump the ball to him and get points in the half court. With no other players taking up attention, Gordon got his chance to work.This does go beyond his 27 points and 11 rebounds or his 11-for-24 shooting. He is not merely getting out in transition and finishing on dunks or acrobatic finishes — although he is. Gordon was getting the ball in the post and trying to beat mismatches with strong moves. He was sizing up defenders and shooting over them, creating space with his dribble. Gordon had the look of a star.And that has been increasing with each preseason game. Gordon is building up to . . . well, we will see. Gordon will then have to learn when to pull that out and how to be efficient. The only flaw in his game was when he took a heat-check 3-pointer or tried to force play. But this Aaron Gordon is something Magic fans have long waited for.. PF. Orlando Magic. AARON GORDON. A-

B+. One thing is very certain about this Orlando Magic team, Elfrid Payton is the man at the controls. And when he is at the controls things are usually going very good. No player on the team can seemingly play at the same break-neck pace as he can. Yet Payton makes it all seem controlled.Early in the game, Payton was great getting to the basket and into the paint. His shot was not quite there all game — 5 for 12 from the floor — but Payton was a threat all night long. The team just took on a different air about them when he is on the floor. Payton finished with 11 points and eight assists.Payton still had some of his struggles defensively. He struggled to keep defenders out of the paint and cut out the point of attack. That is going to be a constant storyline for Payton throughout the year. But Payton has the offense down.. PG. Orlando Magic. ELFRID PAYTON

After Monday’s game, Jonathon Simmons was a big part of the story. It seemed like the Orlando Magic were successfully letting Simmons explore his entire game. That exploration is going to continue all season.The preseason has seen Simmons run into some of the problems that come with expanding his game. He has dribbled himself into traps and tried to force things with his newfound freedom. Tuesday’s game saw him play with the kind of control that makes him a promising player who could challenge for a starter’s spot.Simmons scored 20 points on 7-for-15 shooting and added 10 assists. He hit his shots from the perimeter. Simmons was smart driving to the basket. He did not get too deep or get caught in traps where he had to put up rushed shots. This was Simmons at his most controlled.. G/F. Orlando Magic. JONATHON SIMMONS. B+

C+. <a target=. C. Orlando Magic. KHEM BIRCH

9th West. SAN ANTONIO SPURS. B. Overall, the San Antonio Spurs were a bit sloppy throughout the game, committing 21 turnovers in the game. They were driving a bit wildly into the lane and took some offensive fouls and the like. Even the Spurs need a preseason.When the starters, especially, were in the game, they still looked like the Spurs. They cut beautifully off each other and tortured the Orlando Magic’s defense with their bigs’ ability to space the floor and their passing. The Magic were not as engaged defensively as they should have been and the Spurs played like they were taking advantage.<a rel=. 2-2

Next: Nikola Vucevic hopes to be a post-up stretch-5

The Orlando Magic will wrap up their preseason Friday at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers in what will likely be the team’s dress rehearsal for the regular season.