Orlando Magic find the right time to strike in another ugly game

For a second straight night, it was not pretty for the Orlando Magic. Timely offensive contributions from Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross proved to be enough in another ugly win.

The trip to Mexico was a success for the Orlando Magic. They got wins against both the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz, becoming the first team to sweep the pair of games in Mexico City since the NBA started holding regular season games there regularly in 2017.

In the game on Saturday night against the Jazz, both teams came out of the gate sluggish, combining for only 15 points halfway through the first quarter. Turnovers raged early for Orlando, ending the first half with 15.

It was a struggle for the team. The kind of game where previous iterations of the Magic would have likely crumbled. The team had plenty of times it could have given up, accepting the split and preparing to go home after a long road trip to an exotic locale.

It felt like it might go that way as the Jazz picked things up in the second half. Donovan Mitchell got going and Orlando’s offense just would not kick it into gear.

It felt like the Magic were on the ropes.

Orlando was down 11 points with just more than five minutes left in the third quarter when Evan Fournier spurred a run with a driving layup.

The Magic went on to tie the game after scoring 11 straight. The game remained close until Terrence Ross drilled a three to put the Magic up by one with nine minutes left in the game. Orlando never let up after that point, going on to win 96-89.

This is a different Magic team. A line that has felt repeatable at several instances throughout the season. The Magic, scoring just 55 points through three quarters and shooting 39.3 percent, were dead offensively. Utah was not doing a whole lot more but had the advantage of turnovers (19 from Orlando through three quarters) and free throws (14 attempts to Orlando’s six).

This was not a game the Magic should have won. A quick look at the game’s box score is not as telling as some nights.

Numbers-wise, Nikola Vucevic comes off as a stud — he recorded 15 points and 19 rebounds — but those who watched the game saw Rudy Gobert practically neutralize Vucevic in the pant. Nikola Vucevic was not able to get to his normal offensive spots. Gobert seemed to poke away every pass down into the post seemed with his 7-foot-9 wingspan.

Utah’s aggressive defensive approach forced Orlando to adapt its game to the circumstances. It took some time to get it down.

Vucevic drifted away from the paint in the second half and was able to knock down some mid-range shots and threes. But he ended the game shooting only 35.7 percent from the field — 5 for 14 overall and 2 for 7 in the painted area.

Orlando ultimately had to find their offensive production elsewhere. The team found what it needed in Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross.

Despite struggling recently, on the court and missing a game to deal with a personal issue, Fournier came out the gate firing. He tallied eight of Orlando’s first 10 points and went to halftime with 14. Fournier added 10 points in the second half, ending the game leading all scorers with 24.

While he only shot 2 for 7 from behind the arc, Fournier finished the night shooting 46.6 percent from the field.

The Magic used the Jazz’s focus on Vucevic to their advantage. The two-man game between Vucevic and Fournier enabled Fournier to find open space and hit his shots. His performance was a welcoming sight as he had been in quite the slump recently.

In addition to Fournier’s resurgent performance, Ross came off the bench and lit it up, yet again.

Ross finished the night with 19 points on 8-for-9 shooting. He hit four of his eight makes in the fourth quarter, including two 3-pointers on back-to-back possession to give Orlando the lead.

Ross provided the spark the Magic needed late in the game as the team turned its offense around to score 41 in the final quarter. Not only did he bring them back late, he pushed the tempo and helped seal the deal down the stretch.

This was all an added boost with a defense that played exceptionally well throughout the game. Orlando would not have had the chance for that kind of a burst to win the game.

Fournier actually proved to be vital to the Magic’s defensive efforts here too. He was part of the group that helped hold Donovan Mitchell to 8-for-21 shooting. That inefficiency helped Orlando keep the game within reach.

And eventually, Fournier and Ross’ finishing kick helped deliver them the game.

It is this ability to bide their time and find just enough to wait for that push that has felt the most different about this team. Someone might call it resilience or something else, but this team has an ability to keep games within distance with their defense and timely offense.

That is the biggest sign of growth.

If it was not Fournier or Ross on Saturday, it was someone else. Orlando also got helpful contributions from guards D.J. Augustin and Jonathon Simmons. Both ended the game shooting 50 percent from the floor, adding 11 points and eight points respectively.

In a game where their star player was predominantly neutralized offensively, Orlando was still able to find a way to pull out a quality win against a Western Conference foe.

Even with Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac struggling alongside Nikola Vucevic, Orlando’s ability to adjust their game plan and succeed speaks volumes about this team’s true potential.