The Orlando Magic finally found their offensive pace and worked it to beat the New York Knicks on Wednesday, building hope for their growth.
The Orlando Magic struggled in the first half. They had just 42 points and were again shooting worse than 40 percent. This was going to be another ugly slog of a game.
The New York Knicks were not a team that could make the Orlando Magic pay for such ugliness. The team can hang around.
But winning is going to take something much more. At least a few glimpses and a few moments of free-flowing offense and confidence. Less of the struggle and frustration that characterized the first three and a half games.
Aaron Gordon gathered his teammates before taking the floor in the second half. Something had to change. He said he told his teammates to emphasize the team’s favorite four-letter word throughout training camp as a reminder of what they have to do.
Play with pace and move the ball. Simple things that this team needed a refresher on badly.
"“My message was the pace that we played at after the half,” Aaron Gordon said after Wednesday’s 95-83 win over the Knicks. “That’s been one of our struggles for quite some time. Coming out after the half and being flat. I was trying to encourage us to get the ball up and run and move the defense. I think it worked.”"
The team got the memo. They worked the ball around to Jonathan Isaac on the first possession of the second half, watching him drain a jumper. After getting a stop, Orlando again got the ball to Jonathan Isaac in transition and he hit a step-back over the defense.
The team had some juice and energy flowing again. And things turned around quickly.
Orlando started the second half with an 11-0 run. It was play built on defense and getting stops, a staple for the Magic early on this season, but it was also built on getting down the court quickly and moving the ball. In that run, all but two of the Magic’s shots were assisted.
This was how the Magic always envisioned playing. The team pushing the ball in transition and flowing into its offense with quick cuts and ball movement.
"“We needed to run some plays to get some movement and move their defense,” Nikola Vucevic said after Wednesday’s game. “I thought we did that in the second half. We got some rolls and roll and kicks to the weak side for some open looks. We just have to play that way. That’s what made us successful last year. We have to stick to it. Be aggressive, get a lot of movement and play for each other. That’s how we are at our best.”"
In all, the Magic finished the third quarter with 30 points for their first 30-point quarter of the season. They shot 13 for 20 (65 percent) and 4 for 6 from beyond the arc. After hitting on only 33.3 percent of their shots in the first half, that spark was plenty to give the Magic the lead and control of the game.
Coach Steve Clifford said the game was the Magic’s best stretch of ball movement all season. The team had nine assists on 13 field goal makes.
The team has an overall assist percentage of 59.4 percent and 21.3 assists per game. This was the kind of ball movement the team was missing. It whipped around the perimeter moving inside and out with speed. Orlando played much more sure of itself and aggressive in all facets.
Doing that with Nikola Vucevic scoring seven points and getting their All-Star going for the rest of the game. He scored 13 of his 21 points in the second half, awakening from some more early frustration and his 1-for-13 performance in Monday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors.
"“It was one of those games, it happens,” Vucevic said. “Tonight I was glad I was able to bounce back and have a good game and help us win. I was aggressive from the beginning. I was able to get some easy ones inside and from 3. Things opened up.”"
Gordon too got himself going. After his own slow start when he made two of his first eight shots, he scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, making all four of his shots including two critical 3-pointers.
Gordon did a better job waiting for the offense to cycle to him and attacking quickly or moving the ball. He got the open looks and delivered for the team. It was a good sign for the team overall.
But offense is still a concern. The Magic have still yet to hit 100 points this season. The team knows that it will have to be better. Their 106.7 offensive rating for the game was their best on the season.
This was a momentary relief it seemed. Things can change quickly.
The Magic did not close the third quarter well. The second unit struggled to keep that movement going. And the 13-point lead Orlando built in the third quarter dissipated in the fourth quarter.
Orlando’s starters had to come in and preserve the victory, making plays against a hard-charging New York team.
The Magic had to get back to their principles and their movement to have their moment finally. Gordon challenged his team to get there. The team was up to the challenge.
"“I think it was a huge factor,” Markelle Fultz said after Wednesday’s game. “As you can see, in the second half, we moved it, we made our shots. You can just see a different flow of the game. everyone was running. That’s the way we want to play. We’re starting to figure it out and every game we’re getting better and better.”"
Life is a whole lot easier when the ball moves as it did in the second half Wednesday. That is how the Magic want to play.
Nobody is going to confuse the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks for the elite of NBA defenses. The Magic have beaten two teams they were always supposed to beat with pedestrian-at-best overall offensive performances.
There is still a ton of work to do to get the team where it needs to be and where it hopes to be offensively. Orlando will have big tests this weekend in the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets to test their stellar defense and their offensive commitment.
“We have it in us,” Gordon said after Wednesday’s game. “We have shown it before and we will show it again. Now is the time.”
That quiet confidence is back again after getting the job done.