The Orlando Magic came out angry and desperate following a dispiriting effort Tuesday night. Hot shooting helped them douse the Milwaukee Bucks.
Giannis Antetokounmpo kept coming at the Orlando Magic like the freight train he is. No lead was safe as the Magic could not find an answer for the young all-star. Nothing ever feels safe. How could it for a 20-win team struggling at the bottom of the standings.
This game, despite Orlando’s early lead and prodigious shooting, was the kind of game the team has let slip by so many times. Following a nearly 40-point loss to the San Antonio Spurs the night before, a collapse would not be completely unheard of. It would not be unheard of without that circumstance.
No excuses though. The Magic were not going to let that effort Tuesday night sit. Someone was going to make sure it did not. Make it somebodies.
For every big run Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks threw at the Orlando Magic, Jonathon Simmons and D.J. Augustin seemed to have an answer. Or it was Mario Hezonja or Wesley Iwundu or Khem Birch or Nikola Vucevic. Whatever the team needed.
The Magic continually held off the Bucks throughout the night, behind Jonathon Simmons and D.J. Augustin’s scorching shooting for a 126-117 win at the Amway Center. The Magic came home triumphantly at home and erased the nasty taste of a five-game road losing streak.
Simmons and Augustin keyed the Magic’s offense, making a combined 13 of 21 3-pointers. Simmons made 7 of 12 on his own as the Magic hit 18 of 34. It was the kind of unsustainable 3-point shooting that made Orlando’s offense unstoppable early in the season. It pops out occasionally.
But most of those shots were also created with great ball movement and a patience on offense to find them. That was something sorely lacking throughout the road trip. And perhaps throughout the season.
The Magic were not perfect. They turned the ball over 17 times, struggling with the Bucks’ length. They squandered a 16-point first quarter lead as they always seem to do. And their defense at times looked disconnected. At a certain point, this became a straight shootout.
But the Magic were able to win that. They had the firepower to do so this night. Simmons, the dogged player who is now the Magic’s best creator with all the injuries this team faces, led the charge. He made up for a lackluster game Tuesday.
It seemed every part of the Magic were redeemed. And after falling into the depths of despair, they found a little something to be happy about.
Next: Writing is on the wall for Nikola Vucevic
The Orlando Magic continue their season-long homestand against the Boston Celtics on Friday.