Orlando Magic find their fight in the fourth quarter against Brooklyn Nets
The Orlando Magic let their frustration boil over against the Brooklyn Nets in the third quarter. They found their composure and scored a win in the end.
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The referees took control in the third quarter. And usually that is not something to comment on, except for the frustration that built within the Orlando Magic throughout the quarter.
The Brooklyn Nets took 18 free throws in the third quarter from 10 Orlando fouls. Added to that were four technical fouls from the Magic in the third quarter alone. It was a frustrating evening as the Magic faced physical defense on their end, and yet got called for the slightest touches on the other.
And, yet, the Magic had to persevere through all of that. Through an entire game that seemed completely within grasp and yet found a way to elude and get away from them.
Orlando entered the fourth quarter with a one-point lead — coming off two technical fouls from Elfrid Payton and Nikola Vucevic in the final minute — and every chance to win the game.
In other recent games, the Magic crumbled when they had to close. Despite still playing that see-saw battle, Orlando had their composure and finally took the game 118-111 at the Amway Center on Friday.
And it came from the guy struggling the most offensively entering the final quarter.
“I thought at first I had a lot of open shots I was just missing,” Evan Fournier said. “But in the third quarter, I was not playing good basketball. I was turning the ball over and not making the right decisions. I stayed on the bench and stayed ready because I knew the shots were going to be there. Just trying to do whatever to win.”
Evan Fournier, who had one of the technicals in the third quarter, did more than just stay ready. He took over, leading the Magic to the win.
Fournier scored 21 points but made just 5 of 15 shots for the game. Through three quarters, he had eight points on 3-for-12 shooting. But his aggression levels went up in the fourth quarter as the Magic were desperate for some energy and that big push to score a win.
He scored nine straight points during the Magic’s decisive 13-4 run in the final three minutes, much of it from the foul line as Orlando attacked the basket aggressively. His 3-pointer with 1:36 left was effectively the game winner.
Orlando has had its issues closing games throughout the year, but they found a way to win a tight game.
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“Tonight we struggled to make shots,” coach Frank Vogel said. “We have been red hot shooting the basketball with our ball movement and we didn’t finish well at the basket. We didn’t finish well on the perimeter. But we didn’t turn it over. You get a shot on goal every time, you are going to have a chance. So it’s been a strength of ours as of late not to turn the ball over. And it was a big reason why we won.”
The anger that was apparent in the third quarter had a minor effect for sure as the Magic held on to the lead with a late flurry. Orlando could never quite get separation — their 40.2 percent shooting and 7-for-29 shooting from beyond the arc certainly playing a factor.
Vogel said he calmed his players down after the technical fouls in the third quarter, getting them to move on. He said his technical foul at the beginning of the third quarter was on purpose and that he did not want to see frustration boil over like that again.
The re-focus worked.
The second unit helped take charge in the fourth quarter and the Magic committed just one foul in the fourth quarter. After taking 18 free throws in the third quarter, the Nets did not get to the line in the entire fourth quarter.
That is the kind of precision and focus the Magic need to win close games. The Nets did still score 29 points and posted a 107.4 offensive rating in the fourth quarter, but the Magic more than made up for it with their overwhelming offensive flurry. And they got the stops they needed in the end.
“We just kept fighting,” Nikola Vucevic said. “It was a close game the whole game. Nobody built a big lead or anything. It was just about staying with it, finding a way. I thought we did that tonight. We wouldn’t be able to take over a game offensively and make some big plays.”
There were plenty of reasons for the Magic to be frustrated heading into and as they played this game.
Orlando was looking to snap a six-game home losing streak. And every time the team seemed prepared to pull away and get some breathing room against Brooklyn, some momentum play would go against Orlando and trip the team up. It was a fight to stay ahead in a game with such a frenetic pace to it.
The Magic have struggled at times to commit to their identity and take control of the game as they want it.
The fourth quarter was a test of their will in many ways. A test of whether Orlando could be the aggressor in the end and take the victory.
It was in doubt. And Brook Lopez was terrorizing the Magic’s bigs. The Nets always seemed to have that last counterpunch. And it made Orlando boil over at one point.
The Magic regathered themselves time and again. They were the ones to pull away and score the win. And that might be symbolic of something intangible in this team that it is beginning to discover.
Everything still has to come together, but there are signs pointing up. The fourth quarter win certainly does.
“It feels good to win at home,” Fournier said. “Even though we could have done better. We were on a losing streak at home. I’m glad we finally got one. We know we have to play better, but it definitely feels good.
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