Markelle Fultz scored a career-high 25 points and went on a personal 7-0 run in the fourth quarter to lead the Orlando Magic past the Brooklyn Nets.
With the score tied at 78 in the fourth quarter, the Orlando Magic needed someone to look to as their second unit got them into a mess. A lead that was once at 16 had disappeared.
The Magic went nearly 10 minutes without a field goal as their 12-point lead slowly dwindled. The lead they had built with a dominant 32-point second quarter gave way to a game that had little energy and little flow.
Someone had to step up and change things.
That player was Markelle Fultz. He went on a personal 7-0 run attacking the basket at will and finishing it off with a corner 3-pointer to give the Magic the cushion they would need.
The Orlando Magic held on for a 101-89 win over the Brooklyn Nets from there, pulling even in the standings for seventh place in the Eastern Conference, ahead on percentage points.
The night did not start out perfectly for Markelle Fultz as his first shot was an airball. But he ignited the Magic offense with nine points in the first four minutes of the game as the Magic burst into an early lead.
For Magic star Nikola Vucevic, it was a bizarre night too. He did not score until midway through the third quarter but finished with an astonishing 24 rebounds. He was eventually able to get some offense together and finished with a double-double with 11 points. Nikola Vucevic tied Markelle Fultz with a team-high +18.
The Magic were mostly good defensively as they contested Nets’ shots and forced point guard Spencer Dinwiddie to 16 points, well below his season average of 22.9 points per game.
Joe Harris would find himself hitting open looks, making five of his six shots in the first half, but Wesley Iwundu led the Magic in plus-minus in the first half at +11, and finished the game with a season-high 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
But the Nets struggled to shoot overall. Brooklyn made only 33.3 percent of its shots and hit only 10 of its 47 3-pointers (21.3 percent). The poor shooting prevented Brooklyn from taking advantage of its offensive rebounds and Orlando’s turnovers (an uncharacteristic 20).
Orlando lost its spark in the third quarter and nearly gave up its lead. In fact, the Magic did give up their lead for a brief moment. Fultz reignited that spark and delivered Orlando a crucial win.
The Magic improve to 17-20 and come into a virtual tie for seventh in the Eastern Conference with the Nets. Orlando remains one game behind Brooklyn in the loss column.
The Orlando Magic will host the Washington Wizards on Wednesday hoping for another win against the team from the nation’s capital.