Marred by another game of poor shooting, the Orlando Magic edged out the Chicago Bulls in Mexico City due to Nikola Vucevic’s late-game heroics.
Yes, the Orlando Magic walked away with another mark in the win column, snapping their three-game losing streak. But it was not pretty.
Far from it.
Nikola Vucevic scored the Magic’s last 10 points, including draining a jumper off a pick and roll with Evan Fournier with about 30 seconds to play.
That came after D.J. Augustin drew a charge in a tie game. Nikola Vucevic would then help challenge and change Zach LaVine‘s shot, allowing the Magic to dig out the rebound and escape with a 97-91 win over the Chicago Bulls at Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City.
Orlando was in control of the scoreboard for most of the game, but Chicago roared back with a 10-0 run to start the fourth quarter. But the Magic stayed persistent and tied the game at 83 with six minutes left.
That is when Vucevic took over.
Vucevic nailed a three from the top of the key to put the Magic up 86-83. He then scored the Magic’s last ten points until D.J. Augustin’s free throws sealed the deal.
Outside of Vucevic’s heroics, the rest of the team struggled, yet again, to shoot the ball effectively.
The Magic ended the night shooting an underwhelming 41.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from behind the arc. Most glaringly was Aaron Gordon‘s eight points on 2-for-11 shooting. Even though the 23-year-old power forward played 37 minutes, he did not see the court for the last four minutes of a close game because of his offensive inefficiency.
Defensively, the team looked abysmal for long stretches, allowing the Bulls to shoot 48 percent from the floor and 55 percent from three.
LaVine was able to score at will the entire game — he finished with 23 points while shooting 10 for 18. Orlando’s perimeter defense was practically nonexistent, especially in regards to Justin Holiday who made four out of his five attempts.
But the team stepped up in the final moments of the fourth quarter. After giving up that big run, the Magic made several key stops down the stretch to pull out the win and come from behind after trailing by five early in the fourth quarter.
While it is nice to get back on the winning track, the Magic ultimately struggled against an inferior 6-22 Bulls team. If anything, Thursday’s game shined more light on Orlando’s recent struggles.
But all wins count the same. And it is better to learn those lessons while winning.
The Orlando Magic stay in Mexico City to play the Utah Jazz on Saturday.