Magic fall in sudden death OT to Grizzlies in summer league
The Orlando Magic Blue squad lost to the Memphis Grizzlies 73-71 in sudden death double overtime to fall to 1-2 in summer league play.
But assistant coach Mario Elie, who is serving as the team's head coach, was impressed by his group's effort after opting to sit starting point guard Elfrid Payton and fifth overall pick Mario Hezonja.
"I thought we got better today," Elie said. "We had a fantastic performance by a young group, especially without our two main players, Elfrid and Mario. It was a total team effort, and when you have a young ball club, this league comes down to scoring little details. But I'm so proud of the effort of our guys."
Summer league games adopt the D-League rule of sudden death after the end of the first overtime. Memphis capitalized on a teardrop layup by Russ Smith with 1:28 remaining to improve to 3-0.
"I was very familiar with the rule," Smith said. "I was in a situation last year with the Pelicans' D-League team where if we didn't win it we were going into sudden death. So we ended up winning it off of a throwback. The next time we lost to San Antonio on a sudden death, so I was very familiar with it."
Smith finished with a team-high 20 points and three assists. He shot 9 of 12 from the field, including 2 of 3 behind the arc.
Aaron Gordon enjoyed another strong performance with 22 points and seven rebounds. Gordon went 8 of 19 from the field, including 3 of 5 on 3-pointers and scored Orlando's first seven points.
"I just want to be a complete basketball player at the highest level to the highest point of my potential," Gordon said. "I need that in my game to not only spread the defense but just to say that I'm a complete player."
Orlando's next game is Wednesday at 1 p.m. against the Charlotte Hornets.
