The Orlando Magic finally found their offensive legs in the second half and were able to ride that to a win at home against the New York Knicks.
You could sense the relief when the ball finally went in for Aaron Gordon and the Orlando Magic.
Nikola Vucevic had his game going and was starting to pick up in the post. The New York Knicks would have to crash, double, pull the chair, take charges and do whatever they could to slow him down.
When Nikola Vucevic backed his man down and caused that crash, he fed the ball back out to Aaron Gordon for the three. This time the open shot went in. The Magic had the lead against a plucky Knicks team.
As New York kept fighting back, the lid was off the jar for Gordon.
With Orlando up by only four points, Jonathan Isaac swung the ball to Aaron Gordon in the corner after a drive. Gordon rose in rhythm for the basket. On the next possession, Gordon was able to duck into the lane and finish at the rim.
As the icing on the cake, Gordon closed a 95-83 win over the Knicks at the Amway Center on Wednesday with a steal and a windmill-behind-the-head jam, his first real highlight dunk of the year.
A sigh of relief indeed.
After another frustrating offensive first half, the Magic woke up in the third quarter, recording their first 30-point quarter of the season. The Magic moved the ball a whole lot better and found gaps within the defense. They were able to run their pick and roll more effectively.
A big part of that was Vucevic. He made those in-between shots in the pick and roll that he likes. He moved decisively and quickly and that kept the Magic’s offense moving. They did not stand around and the ball found the open man.
Orlando’s defense continued to deliver, putting the cap on the game.
The Magic held the Knicks without a field goal for the final 4:25 of the game with Jonathan Isaac swarming Julius Randle and the team contesting every shot in the paint. They locked the Knicks down for much of the second half and certainly down the stretch.
The Knicks finished shooting just 37.8 percent for the game. The Knicks hit on only 7 of 31 3-pointers for the entire game. And the Magic outrebounded them 52-44, including 17-10 on the offensive glass. After some early struggles boxing out, Orlando locked down the glass by the end of the game too.
The Magic still went stagnant for parts of the second half, but their starters finally stepped up when called upon. They delivered an important victory and a sigh of relief in the end.
The Orlando Magic continue their homestand for the first of a weekend back-to-back Friday against the Milwaukee Bucks.