The Orlando Magic struggled to keep the Brooklyn Nets in front of them and paid the price, especially as injuries piled up. The Nets outpaced the Magic.
Any time the Orlando Magic needed a basket, they turned to Nikola Vucevic. And they needed a lot of baskets to keep pace with the speedy Brooklyn Nets.
Any chance the Magic had for a respite, it seemed the Nets were coming right back at them. That is the basic design for Brooklyn.
Orlando kept fighting back. Nikola Vucevic was going to do everything he could to get the team back. He drained a 3-pointer, his sixth of the game to cut the deficit down. Evan Fournier followed with his own 3-pointer to make it a one-possession game.
The Nets kept the door open.
Orlando was not quite ready to walk through that door. Brooklyn just had too much offense. And the Magic could not conjure up one more 3-pointer.
D.J. Augustin, playing for an injured Elfrid Payton late in the game, dished it to Nikola Vucevic on the wing. Vucevic fumbled the ball and passed it to Evan Fournier in the corner.
Fournier did not have the heroics this time.
His 3-pointer was no good, giving the Nets a 126-121 win at the Barclays Center on Friday. Orlando could not contain the Brooklyn offense, already playing with a small margin for error with Aaron Gordon (ankle) out for the game and Elfrid Payton (hamstring) out for the second half.
The Magic struggled defensively in just about every way. They gave up 50.0 percent shooting, 60 points in the paint and 35 free throw attempts. Brooklyn was able to attack the paint and take advantage of the Magic’s late switches or attack the offensive glass. Magic players were constantly out of position.
And Orlando fouled . . . a lot.
The Magic sending the Nets to the free throw line made it difficult for the team to build momentum and difficult to get out in transition. Orlando playing out of the half court was certainly a struggle. The Magic really struggled to get much offense outside of Vucevic and Fournier.
With so many key players injured, the Magic needed players to step up. Particularly on defense. Orlando showed it can score and take advantage of the mistakes Brooklyn made. But the Magic could not get themselves completely over the hump.
The team was frustrated with itself more than what the Nets were doing. Orlando had an early eight-point lead thanks to its starting lineup. But the Magic could not reel the Nets back in and were chasing the breakneck pace the rest of the game.
Next: Orlando Magic Daily Roundtable: Expectations and Excitement
The Magic will have to put this game behind them quickly. They head to Cleveland to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday at 8 p.m. on FOX Sports Florida.