The Orlando Magic had their breakthrough offensive game, routing the Memphis Grizzlies with an impressive second-half performance.
It is amazing how easily things open up with just one shot or a string of shots.
For an Orlando Magic team that has struggled to see the ball go into the basket, it has been easy to become discouraged. Even a momentary mistake becomes amplified because the team simply cannot score consistently. So everyone gets tight and shots start to miss.
As much as makes can spread throughout a team, it has felt like misses also spread to the team. And the Magic have not quite gotten themselves right.
A strong start for the Orlando Magic staked an early lead against the Memphis Grizzlies, but the bench seemingly gave it all away. The team struggled to hit from the outside and Memphis started to pack the paint daring Orlando to beat the team from the outside.
In the third quarter — and after eight games — the Magic finally did.
Evan Fournier buried back-to-back 3-pointers early in the third quarter — part of his 10 points in the period — and the Magic suddenly found life. They zoomed ahead, never letting the Grizzlies back in it. There, Orlando’s suffocating defense could take completely over.
The Grizzlies were going nowhere. They were not coming back, the Magic would not let them. And Orlando finally built the offensive cushion they needed to coast to a 118-86 win at the Amway Center on Friday.
For one night, at least, the offensive problems were gone and the Magic played as the better team everyone promises they are or will be.
The Magic ended the night shooting 47.3 percent from the floor. Their 7-for-28 3-point shooting is hardly going to blow anyone away, it was still worse than 30 percent overall, but it was enough to create the space the Magic needed to attack.
And they attacked. Orlando turned its defense into easy offense. The Magic found cutting lanes and moved the ball pretty effectively to create easy baskets at the rim. Orlando continued a promising trend of getting to the foul line.
The ball still got stuck at times. And the Magic were not always taking great shots. But their starters especially kept the pace going and the Magic were able to keep control of the game throughout.
The Orlando Magic’s homestand continues Sunday against the Indiana Pacers.