Orlando Magic Grades: Orlando Magic 121, Indiana Pacers 116
The Orlando Magic struggled to corral the Indiana Pacers until their bench unit slowed them down enough for the team to race ahead and score a big win.
38. 116. 100. Final. 121
The offense came suspiciously easy for the Orlando Magic throughout their game against the Indiana Pacers. The team’s energy was up on that end and the ball was moving around the perimeter and into the paint.
Nothing would matter if the team could not get a stop. That is always the case for the Magic. Their defense is their barometer. The offense is not something they can wholly rely on. At least not on its own.
Throughout the third quarter, it looked like the Pacers were about to pull away. They opened an eight-point lead as they continued to drive the lane and draw fouls. Their parade of and-1s throughout the quarter seemed to kill the Magic’s momentum.
But Orlando would get a deflection and a turnover to feed them back into the game. It would take a focused defensive effort to get them back.
The end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth quarter, they slowly started to get that from their second unit.
Wesley Iwundu dug in for a steal or a deflection or just a simple stop. Khem Birch stepped up on the pick and roll and started stonewalling players at the basket. Michael Carter-Williams flew around and deflected passes and blocked shots.
The Magic started to lock down the paint and get nasty. The Magic needed the final push offensive to get over the top.
In stepped Aaron Gordon.
It was not the high-flying Aaron Gordon efforts that have made him a household name. But rather it was control and patience. He gave Orlando a lead with a patient drive past Thaddeus Young for a two-handed jam, beating him off the dribble.
He put the icing on the cake with two minutes left, catching the ball in the corner, pump faking his man past him and sidestepping over for a three. He drained it and the Pacers’ desperate attempts to cut back into the league were constantly thwarted in a 121-116 win at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday.
It was probably not completely the effort the Magic wanted. But they simply found a way. Their offense keeping pace until their defense put in the strong effort the team needed in the third and fourth quarters.
And that is enough to keep pace with five games left in the regular season.
A-. It is easy to get trapped with Aaron Gordon’s athleticism and the potential he flashed last year with his scoring ability. And by some of those standards, this season has not quite lived up to expectations. It has been all the other areas of Gordon’s game that have grown by leaps and bounds. He has become a more patient, well-rounded player rather than the All-Star everyone thought he was on the cusp of. That may still come.<p>If it does come, it will look more like games like this rather than the 40-point bursts he had last year. He was solid defensively and worked the glass effectively. He drove into the lane with patience. When the Magic needed some elite energy in the fourth quarter, he brought it defensively.</p><p>But his scoring was much more effective. He had things working in his 23-point, 10-rebounds, 7-assist effort. Those shots came a lot on the quick moves into rhythm jumpers (off-balance as they might be) that he sometimes settles for. But he was able to get into the lane and create for himself and others. He was not forcing and it was a brilliant effort. Especially with the big shots he took and made throughout the fourth quarter.</p>. F. Orlando Magic. AARON GORDON
A. Everyone figured the Orlando Magic’s game against the Indiana Pacers would be a grind. They are two of the best defensive teams in the league and their games can be grinds. This was not that kind of a grind-it-out game. This was a game where both teams were trying to find some defense. <a href=. SF. Orlando Magic. WESLEY IWUNDU
A-. Like Wesley Iwundu, <a href=. A-. Orlando Magic. KHEM BIRCH
C. Orlando Magic. NIKOLA VUCEVIC. C+. The last few games, <a href=
INDIANA PACERS. B-. The Indiana Pacers did not play the game they typically play. Their defense could not reel things in but they were constantly on the attack offensively. It was a strange game, but they found themselves in control for much of it.<p>Orlando was the team that started playing defense first. The Magic were able to get the pace back under control and the Pacers are not a team that typically goes at a fast pace. <a rel=. 45-32. 5th East
The Orlando Magic finish their four-game road trip against the Toronto Raptors on Monday. They have five games remaining.
With the Miami Heat’s win over the New York Knicks, the Orlando Magic remain one-half game out of the final playoff spot. With five Heat wins or five Magic losses, the Magic will be eliminated from the playoffs.
Orlando Magic playoff hopes tied to beating Miami Heat. dark. Next
With the win, the Magic have been eliminated from receiving the seventh-, eighth- and ninth-best odds to win the NBA Draft Lottery. With three more Orlando Magic wins or three more Minnesota Timberwolves losses, the Magic will be eliminated from receiving the 10th-best odds to win the NBA Draft Lottery.