Elfrid Payton helped breathe life into the Orlando Magic, helping them to a 112-99 victory over the New York Knicks in an all-around solid effort.
New York Knicks forward Michael Beasley, starting in Kristaps Porzingis‘ stead, found himself guarding Aaron Gordon on the second possession of Wednesday night’s game against the Orlando Magic. Beasley is by no stretch known for defensive prowess, but he is quick-footed for a power forward, which should theoretically work in his favor against the 21-year-old high-flyer.
Halfway through the Magic’s first shot clock, he nearly fell over backward as Aaron Gordon threw down a perfectly-placed Elfrid Payton lob out of a pick-and-roll.
The Magic missed Payton. They missed having any starting caliber point guard, really, as they struggled to stay afloat offensively their last two games. This performance reminded everyone watching how this offense is supposed to work.
There was consistent pressure on the Knicks defense early in the shot clock as the Magic got out in transition, partly due to the Knicks’ live-ball turnovers. But Payton pushed the pace even off dead balls.
In the halfcourt, he hit open men who proceeded to either take good shots or pass for a better shot. These simple plays were neglected against the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls, but his passing can be infectious like that.
The aesthetic difference was obvious almost immediately, but the results did not come until later.
The game was neck and neck until later in the second half. In the first, the Knicks continuously applied pressure to the Magic defense by running through countless options. Forcing Magic defenders to communicate and make decisions by cutting and screening off-ball. It led to some half-decent looks at the hoop. But they seemed to drain even some well-defended shots.
Their collective patience waned later in the game. The young Knicks forced more shots and tended to stand around watching whatever primary action they were running instead of staying active and engaged. That, plus some general sloppiness, worked to the Magic’s favor as they began to pull away.
Bench problems persisted for the Magic, however. The lack of shooting and shot creation on some of coach Frank Vogel’s second units – chiefly, those consisting of Bismack Biyombo and Shelvin Mack – inevitably led to New York gaining the upper hand at a few points of the game.
In the end, Orlando pulled away, in no small part due to Jonathon Simmons driving hard to the rim, scoring and drawing fouls. He clearly benefitted from having a clear directive and more energy late in the game as his point guard duties were relieved.
Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic all chipped in with 20-point games while Elfrid Payton offered up 11 assists. The team shot 46 percent from three and 53.8 percent from the field.
It was an all-around solid effort with excellent performances from most of the Magic’s key rotation players.
Next: Orlando Magic shining on defense, but see plenty to improve
The Magic next hit the road to start a four-game West Coast road trip. They are in Phoenix on Friday to play the Phoenix Suns.