A less than depleted Clippers teams dealt the Orlando Magic a blow by breezing to victory 116-90. It was another tough watch for Magic fans.
The Clippers received a pre game boost with the news that both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard were able to rejoin the team. Both players travelled and arrived in Orlando to rejoin the team, then suit up. And what an impact they had!
THE FIRST HALF
Orlando went down early to a strong Clippers start.
The Magic second unit played superbly well with Aaron Gordon at the point. Khem Birch was again setting screens, making rebounds and hitting a score or two. Terrence Ross was lit. At the quarter close Orlando were level.
The second unit were effective throughout their court time in the second, hitting shots and making the Clippers work for everything.
As the starting units returned the Clippers pulled ahead. The Cole Anthony drive and pass back for a trailing Nikola Vucevic 3 ball was again paying dividends. A Kawhi Leonard 3 at the end of the second saw the LA lead extended to 14.
THE SECOND HALF
Coming out for the third quarter saw Orlando respond by opening with a 11-0 run on the back of scoring from Evan Fournier and James Ennis. The run was broken by a Paul George corner 3 ball.
From that point the Clippers took over, extending their lead. No calls saw both Vooch and Coach Clifford hit with technical fouls. As the third closed the lead stood at 19, reading 90-71.
Again turnovers and scoring resulting from those were causing Orlando problems. Through a couple of turnovers and made 3’s the lead grew.
With 6 minutes to go Coach Clifford emptied the bench. By the close the score was 116-90.
Orlando had fought but offensive struggles did for the team, shooting just 36% from the field, 30.3% from 3.
LA CLIPPERS 116 ORLANDO MAGIC 90
MOVING ON FROM A LOSS TO A LESS THAN DEPLETED CLIPPERS
As the Orlando players left the court and walked to their locker room the body language was not good. They had a look of a beaten team.
Orlando now face two games against the struggling Toronto Raptors. The first is a road game in Tampa, the temporary home for the Raptors. The second is back in the Amway. These games are followed up by a home back-to-back against the Chicago Bulls.
Check out our latest episode of the podcast Penny For Your Thoughts as we cover the upcoming schedule and much more.
Orlando must start to see results turn their way or we could be looking at a long season ahead.
A full game review by Josh Cohen on the Orlando Magic website can be read here.
