Orlando Magic Grades: Orlando Magic 149, Atlanta Hawks 113
The Orlando Magic never let the Atlanta Hawks get off the mat, dominating them from the start and running away with a victory at home.
149. 38. Final. 113. 125
It happened seemingly in a flash.
The game was tied at five and the Atlanta Hawks caught the Orlando Magic sleeping a bit. And then that door closed. And closed quickly.
With each missed shot, turnover, deflection and then an avalanche of offense that never stopped. Not even the Hawks were going to be able to keep up in this one. There was no chance.
In their final home game, the Magic seemed like they wanted to send a signal to the rest of their competitors and the rest of the league. This team is for real and if a top team is not careful come playoff time. Of course, the Magic still have to get there.
But with each play in a 42-point first-quarter outburst and a team-record 81-point first-half outburst, the Magic buried the Hawks and claimed their real estate with a 149-113 win in the home finale at the Amway Center on Friday.
That early tie quickly disappeared with Jonathan Isaac deflecting passes, dribbles and everything else. He ran the floor for dunks and easy baskets. His 3-pointer to open the game knocked the Magic out of an early morose.
But everyone else got in on the game. Evan Fournier hit 3-pointers and tough shots off the dribble as he continued to find his rhythm. Aaron Gordon fit in everywhere, dishing and moving the ball, including one between his legs to Nikola Vucevic for a 3-pointer.
And then there was D.J. Augustin, straight clowning Trae Young on several occasions. He beat him off the dribble getting him off balance on several occasions. Then there was his fake that had Young turning around before he drained a fadeaway jumper from the baseline.
Orlando shot 60.9 percent from the floor. The team made 18 3-pointers and got 25 points each from Evan Fournier, Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross.
The Magic were up big and never looked back. So much so they turned the ball over and had long bouts of poor play that would trouble any coach. Except they were so far ahead and strong enough defensively that the Hawks never threatened.
This one was over after one quarter.
A. <a href=. F. Orlando Magic. JONATHAN ISAAC
A. Nikola Vucevic had his way with the Atlanta Hawks on the inside. Really he has had his way with them in all four matchups and in recent years. He just creates a matchup nightmare for a team that does not play a lot of defense.<p>It would be one thing if he was just hitting jumpers and the Hawks let him shoot from the perimeter. But Vucevic was getting inside and hitting everything. He was not settling for the outside shot, he was posting up and dominating the interior.</p><p>Vucevic finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds on 9-for-13 shooting. On several occasions, Vucevic was able to deflect rebounds right to teammates to start fast breaks. The Magic were working on all cylinders and every cog seemed to be part of a well-oiled machine to get the Magic moving.</p>. C. Orlando Magic. NIKOLA VUCEVIC
Orlando Magic. TERRENCE ROSS. A. When the Orlando Magic have needed a big basket or a big shot, Terrence Ross has been there to deliver. Whenever it seemed like the Atlanta Hawks were charging up to make a run at the insurmountable lead, Ross was there with a barrage of 3-pointers.<p>Ross finished with 25 points on 6-for-10 shooting from beyond the arc. He hit them in every way he could. It was easy to find him if the Orlando Magic were willing to share the ball with how poorly the Atlanta Hawks played defense. The Magic had 35 assists on 56 field goals. The ball was moving.</p><p>And when the ball is moving, it will find Ross. And if Ross is open, he is going to shoot and make his shot. He was doing that all night long as he is back to hitting shots consistently again.</p>. G/F
G/F. Orlando Magic. EVAN FOURNIER. A. Evan Fournier will be the first to admit this has not been a good season for him. It is far from his best season and the statistics show that. Every time it looks like he is about to break free, he hits another rough patch. Other parts of his game — and his improving defense — have made up for it some. But nothing replaces Fournier’s shooting.<p>Slowly, it seems Fournier is getting out of that funk and putting up great games consistently. This one was another one. Fournier scored 25 points on 11-for-14 shooting with just one 3-pointer. He was never settling and rarely taking forced or out-of-rhythm jumpers. Everything seemed to be heading toward the basket or off the pass.</p>
The Atlanta Hawks simply did not bring the energy they needed. They missed shots early and fed into the Orlando Magic’s defense. And, as some might say, their spirit was broken. The Magic needed to come out and put their foot down early and that is what they did. The Hawks had no chance to win this one from very early on.<p>Atlanta seemed completely reliant on its offense to feed its energy. And when that disappeared the team had nothing left. The Hawks were lost defensively giving no resistance to the Magic. Orlando brought good effort and energy, but losing by this much is a product of both teams’ efforts.</p><p>There were some good efforts. Deandre’ Bembry’s 14 points were solid and he did a good job attacking the basket and paint. Orlando had plenty of moments where its defense went lax. But the deficit was always too big for the Hawks to make an impact.</p>. 29-51. 12th East. ATLANTA HAWKS. F
The Orlando Magic conclude the regular season with a two-game road trip starting Sunday night against the Boston Celtics.
With the win and the Detroit Pistons’ loss, the Orlando Magic climbed to sixth in the Eastern Conference. They are one-half game ahead of the Detroit Pistons and Brooklyn Nets for seventh and 1.5 games ahead of the Miami Heat to make the playoffs.
With one more Orlando Magic win and one more Miami Heat loss and one more Charlotte Hornets loss, the Magic will clinch a playoff spot.
Next. Michael Carter-Williams has made a measurable difference for Orlando Magic. dark
With the win, the Orlando Magic have been eliminated from receiving the 10th and 11th spots in the NBA Draft Lottery. The Magic will be eliminated from receiving the 12th spot in the NBA Draft Lottery with one more win or one more Hornets loss.