National Basketball Association
Orlando 102, Toronto 94
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, February 3, 2017
Where: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Officials:
#32 Marat Kogut, #13 Monty McCutchen, #64 Justin VanDuyne
Attendance:
17141
By The Sports Xchange
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Orlando Magic were clinging to a four-point lead with about two minutes to play as All-Star guard Kyle Lowry began to size up C.J. Watson at the top of the key.
One more shot could break the team's will and open the path for the Raptors to steal a win on the road. The Magic had just missed three free throws and a chance to put the game further out of reach. This was the Raptors' chance.
From summer workouts in Las Vegas together, Watson knew what Lowry was about to do. And with a quick swipe at the ball, it came loose. With nothing but open court in front of him, Watson scored to bring the lead to six.
It was the Magic (20-32) who would break the Raptors (30-21) on their way to a 102-94 victory at Amway Center.
"Just trying to play the same we did tonight," Watson said. "Play hard, play aggressive on both nights. Try to get one more win in a row. That's what we have to do to get back in the race."
The Magic have been clinging to fledgling playoff hopes as they have sunk in the standings. Friday's win represented a necessary victory, but also an encouraging one for the way it came about.
Typically struggling on defense, Orlando gave up fewer than 100 points for the second straight game, showing a strong ability to block shots and close out on shooters on the perimeter. The Magic finished with seven blocks, including three from Serge Ibaka. Toronto shot just 39.1 percent from the floor.
The Raptors scored just 12 points in the third quarter as they gave up the lead and fell behind the Magic. Toronto shot 19.0 percent in the fourth quarter. Nikola Vucevic outscored the Raptors himself with 14 of his 18 points in the third quarter.
That poor start to the second half, when Orlando started on a 10-1 run, doomed the Raptors the rest of the way.
"You can't score 12 points in the third quarter and beat any team in the NBA," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "We didn't come out with guns blazing in the third quarter. We were flat. That is what set the tone in the second half. And it usually does when you do not execute offensively. We have enough offense in for us to be able to get some things done for us and get some points."
Still the Raptors had their chances in the fourth quarter. Despite missing his first eight 3-pointers, Lowry made his ninth and drew a foul midway through the fourth quarter to pull the Raptors within one. But the Magic answered with an 8-0 run, getting a three-point play from Evan Fournier and a 3-pointer from Watson to start the run.
The typically offensive challenged Magic never ran away with it from there, but got the stops and baskets they needed to pull out the victory.
"We got a much-needed home win," Magic coach Frank Vogel said. "Our guys showed a healthy enthusiasm for the game tonight. It has been a tough run for us. We aren't always happy with how we played or what our record looks like. We're not quitting, we're not giving in."
Ibaka and Fournier led the Magic with a pair of double doubles. Each scored 20 points with Fournier grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds and Ibaka snagging 12 boards. Vucevic scored 18 points for the Magic, as did Watson.
Lowry led a trio of Raptors with 18 points. But Lowry made just 5 of his 20 shots and two of his 11 3-pointers. Jonas Valanciunas and Norman Powell also scored 18 for the Raptors.
NOTES: Raptors SG DeMar DeRozan missed his sixth game in the last seven with an injured ankle. Norman Powell started in his place. ... Toronto PG Kyle Lowry entered the game four 3-pointers shy of Morris Peterson's franchise record of 801 career 3-pointers. Lowry is a career 42.7 percent 3-point shooter and has reached that mark in just five seasons while Peterson needed seven. Coach Dwane Casey said that is both a sign of Lowry's 3-point acumen and a sign of the times as the league has seen the 3-point shot grow in importance. ... Orlando Magic coach Frank Vogel said he did not watch Aaron Gordon's dunk contest performance until the morning after. Now that he is Gordon's coach, he said he will watch his encore performance live, jokingly saying he would offer him tips as needed.
Top Game Performances
Toronto |
|
Orlando |
Kyle Lowry 18 |
Scoring |
Evan Fournier 20 |
Kyle Lowry 7 |
Assists |
Elfrid Payton 6 |
Jonas Valanciunas 11 |
Rebounds |
Serge Ibaka 12 |
Kyle Lowry 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Evan Fournier 8 |
DeMarre Carroll 1 |
Steals |
C.J. Watson 2 |
Kyle Lowry 1 |
Blocks |
Serge Ibaka 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Toronto
|
94 |
39.1 |
10-28 |
16-21 |
15 |
44 |
5 |
5 |
13 |
Orlando
|
102 |
46.2 |
5-14 |
23-32 |
22 |
46 |
7 |
4 |
11 |
Upcoming Games
-
Orlando will play their next game on the road against Atlanta. The Magic have a W/L % of .300 after a win and .438 after a loss.
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Toronto will play their next game on the road against Brooklyn. The Raptors have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .571 after a loss.