Orlando Magic Grades: Orlando Magic 115, New Orleans Pelicans 99
The Orlando Magic put the screws on the New Orleans Pelicans in the second half, shutting the door on a big game from Anthony Davis.
Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans hung 40 points on the Orlando Magic in the second quarter.
In the entire second half, they managed only 35 as Orlando scored a 115-99 victory at Smoothie King Center on Monday.
The Magic won this game with solid bench play, strong defense, aggressive transition scoring and lights-out shooting. Those four things have typified a red-hot start to the 2018 season for a team few expected to make any waves at all.
Davis came out strong and never let up. He got Aaron Gordon into early foul trouble (Aaron Gordon ended up playing just 18 minutes) and finished with an impressive 39 points on 20 field goal attempts. Jonathan Isaac subbed in for Aaron Gordon until he too picked up some quick fouls. Then, it was up to Marreesse Speights to guard Anthony Davis and play power forward.
In the first half, it looked like the Magic had no answers for Davis, who had his way over and over again in the paint. Nikola Vucevic appeared to shy away from shooting threes in favor of going at DeMarcus Cousins in the post, which was largely ill-advised aside from a few nice hook shots.
But the Magic started bringing hard double teams in the third quarter and managed to do so without giving shooters any openings beyond the arc. Every defender on the floor trusted each other, rotated properly and allowed the Pelicans no breathing room.
Once the defense gathered its bearings, everything else seemed to fall into place.
Per Cleaning the Glass, the Magic were near the top of the league in transition opportunities off steals entering this game. Aggressive defense from Evan Fournier, Jonathon Simmons and D.J. Augustin may have caused that ranking to rise tonight, in addition to creating excellent scoring opportunities for their teammates.
Later in the game, coach Frank Vogel entered an intriguing lineup with Marreese Speights at center and good defenders all around: Shelvin Mack, Jonathon Simmons, Terrence Ross and Jonathan Isaac. Speights went absolutely nuclear, draining six threes, five of which came in the second half, and finishing with 18 points.
The Magic were clearly firing on all cylinders at this point.
The Pelicans began to look listless, getting little offensive production from anyone but Davis and Cousins, who seemed to look more to pass than to score at times. They did not let up and pulled away, winning by 16 and outscoring the Pelicans by more than 20 points in the second half.
A rough first half clearly did not discourage this team. They made good defensive adjustments and seemed to beat their opponents into submission as the clock ticked down. That is how the Magic will win games this season.
A. <a rel=. C. Orlando Magic. MARREESE SPEIGHTS
A. <a href=. G/F. Orlando Magic. EVAN FOURNIER
B. This was an up-and-down night for Aaron Gordon. It was always going to be an extremely tough defensive assignment as Anthony Davis is possibly the best power forward in the NBA. And Gordon held his own at times. But Davis clearly tried to draw quick fouls and succeeded.<p>Because of those fouls, Gordon managed only 18 minutes. Fortunately, more minutes were not needed as Marreese Speights shot the lights out. But Gordon needs to keep his composure when defending bigger players in the post. Whether you agreed with the calls or not, he looked overmatched, which is understandable given Davis’ pedigree. It is still an area Gordon needs to improve.</p><p>On the offensive end, he was as impressive as he has been at any point over the Magic’s first seven games. He scored 17 points and made three of his five 3-point attempts. Perhaps most importantly, he looked as confident as ever letting defenders fly by on closeouts and knocking down jumpers.</p><p>He may not be able to sustain his incredible shooting numbers all season, but he is taking great shots and has clearly improved his scoring acumen. His team will need him for more than eighteen minutes.</p>. PF. Orlando Magic. AARON GORDON
D. The Orlando Magic needed to control the paint to have a chance against the New Orleans Pelicans. Entering the game, it appeared <a rel=. C. Orlando Magic. BISMACK BIYOMBO
The New Orleans Pelicans are a franchise in a difficult position. They have two of the league’s best players, Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, and they are fitting together seamlessly despite questions as to whether a modern NBA team could credibly play two big men at once. But the rest of the roster is riddled with injuries and a stark lack of wing players.<p>Davis looked as dominant as ever in this game. Cousins’ stat line was a little more pedestrian, with only 12 points on 35.7 percent shooting. But he was stout defensively, hit a few key shots and made some smart passes.</p><div class=. 3-4. 11th West. NEW ORLEANS PELICANS. B-
The rest of the team seemed to take its collective foot off the gas pedal once the Magic showed some fight in the second half. Despite the crafty opportunism of Ian Clark and a surprisingly productive offensive game from Tony Allen, most of the Pelicans looked disengaged on both ends.
That is the exact kind of team mentality Orlando will jump all over this season. Evan Fournier, D.J. Augustin, Terrence Ross, Jonathon Simmons and Jonathan Isaac all seemed to smell blood in the water. At different points in the game, each of them turned lackadaisical Pelicans plays into Magic offense.
Cousins and Davis clearly work together. Both are skilled and versatile enough to make the supersized pairing fit. The question for New Orleans is about the roster outside of the top two or three. Monday it looked like it was they who were on the second game of a road back-to-back, not the Magic.
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B-
The New Orleans Pelicans are a franchise in a difficult position. They have two of the league’s best players, Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, and they are fitting together seamlessly despite questions as to whether a modern NBA team could credibly play two big men at once. But the rest of the roster is riddled with injuries and a stark lack of wing players.
Davis looked as dominant as ever in this game. Cousins’ stat line was a little more pedestrian, with only 12 points on 35.7 percent shooting. But he was stout defensively, hit a few key shots and made some smart passes.
The rest of the team seemed to take its collective foot off the gas pedal once the Magic showed some fight in the second half. Despite the crafty opportunism of Ian Clark and a surprisingly productive offensive game from Tony Allen, most of the Pelicans looked disengaged on both ends.
That is the exact kind of team mentality Orlando will jump all over this season. Evan Fournier, D.J. Augustin, Terrence Ross, Jonathon Simmons and Jonathan Isaac all seemed to smell blood in the water. At different points in the game, each of them turned lackadaisical Pelicans plays into Magic offense.
Cousins and Davis clearly work together. Both are skilled and versatile enough to make the supersized pairing fit. The question for New Orleans is about the roster outside of the top two or three. Monday it looked like it was they who were on the second game of a road back-to-back, not the Magic.