Orlando Magic Grades: Orlando Magic 128, Phoenix Suns 114
The Orlando Magic matched their best offensive game of the season with performance to top it in defeating the Phoenix Suns for a third straight win.
128. 38. Final. 114. 66
Things did not start out well for the Orlando Magic.
The Phoenix Suns walked into 3-pointers after a flurry of early turnovers. They worked the ball around to open looks. Frank Kaminsky, of all people, was dominating the inside.
The Magic, not known for their offense, was trying to keep pace but that was never going to be a winning formula.
Except it was in Tuesday’s win over the Washington Wizards. Why not let the hot shooting continue?
The Suns would eventually start missing those 3-pointers. Orlando’s length and defensive depth eventually slowed things down. And the Magic kept shooting and shooting and shooting.
The bench did its job scoring a season-high 48 points. Every regular player off the bench had a plus-minus greater than +10. Orlando built as much as a 24-point lead, erasing that early 10-point deficit. The hot shooting continued for everyone else as the Magic defeated the Suns 128-114 at Amway Center on Wednesday.
The Magic shot a season-best 57.6 percent, including 14 for 25 from beyond the arc. For a team that has struggled to see the ball go through the basket, it was as much a relief as anything to keep a steady pace offensively and have an offense to rely on.
Phoenix put plenty of pressure on the team offensively. The Magic were not completely clean defensively for a second straight night. But they were strong enough defensively long enough to stake their lead and never let it go.
That came in the second quarter where Orlando held Phoenix to just 21 points. With the Magic scoring 34 that period, they had built their lead large enough to keep the Suns at arm’s length.
It helped form there that Aaron Gordon could not miss. His pair of 3-pointers to start the third quarter helped stave off an early Phoenix run and reset the tone and control for the game. From there the team got contributions everywhere else on the roster to keep pace.
There might have been small lapses throughout the game. But they were very small. And the offensive strength in this game covered them up. The Magic largely held the Suns to one shot, they limited their turnovers after a loose first quarter and got open looks and worked their offense against a weak Suns defense.
It was about as well as the Magic could play.
A. <a href=. F. Orlando Magic. AARON GORDON
Orlando Magic. TERRENCE ROSS. B+. This game had a lot to do with the bench and their ability to take the tide of the game back and provide some offensive push. That is something this group has struggled to do throughout the course of the season. Bench play has perhaps been the team’s biggest weakness.<p><a href=. G/F
A+. Ever since the injury to <a href=. C. Orlando Magic. MOHAMED BAMBA
<a href=. C. Orlando Magic. KHEM BIRCH. B
B-. The Phoenix Suns have ridden their hot shooting into the eighth spot in the Western Conference as the league nears the quarter pole of the season. They are one of the best stories in the league. But they are crashing a bit down to earth thanks to some injuries (and a suspension) stretching their center depth. Without 3-point shooting, the team kind of sinks.<p>Phoenix hit on 15 of 33 3-pointers. The Suns made plenty of those shots. But they made only 48.9 percent of their shots overall. That would suggest Orlando did some things right defensively and just got beat on a barrage of 3-pointers. The Suns did plenty to keep themselves in the game.</p><p>So it really came down to their defense, which was virtually non-existent. Phoenix let the worst-shooting team in the league tear it apart and that wasted a big night from Frank Kaminsky (23 points) and a solid, if not muted, night from <a href=. 9-11. 8th West. PHOENIX SUNS
Next. Markelle Fultz finds his home on the court again. dark
The Orlando Magic start a two-game road trip on Friday when they face the Cleveland Cavaliers for the third time this season.