Simply put there was not enough Magic in Brooklyn as Orlando ran into the star power of the new look Brooklyn Nets.
Again the Orlando Magic were missing key players on Saturday night in Brooklyn. Far from ideal as they faced Kevin Durant and his new team mate James Harden.
Despite a spirited effort the team came up short in the contest by a score of 122-115. The game was close throughout and was largely decided in the fourth quarter.
THE MAGIC SHORTHANDED AGAIN
Once again the Magic did not have the services of Evan Fournier, Mo Bamba or Michael Carter-Williams for the 2nd game of the road trip in Brooklyn. Orlando started Cole Anthony, Dwayne Bacon, James Ennis III, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic.
Brooklyn had James Harden available to them for the first time following the transaction with Houston, Cleveland and Indiana in the week.
SPIRITED EFFORT
The Magic fought hard throughout the contest with the game going back and forth until the Nets pulled away in the fourth when it seemed Durant and Harden couldn’t miss from the floor.
Nikola Vucevic led the team and continued his stellar play of late. On the night Vooch posted 34 points including 6 of 12 from deep, along with 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals! Terrence Ross sparked the bench and registered 23 points on 9 of 17 shooting.
Cole Anthony had his best game in a Magic uniform. He was driving to the basket, scoring and moving the basketball. The performance ended with 16 points and 8 assists to his name.
THE MAGIC OFFENSE
Orlando shot 46.3% for the game (44 of 95 shots). The Magic connected on 14 of 46 attempts from behind the arc, which was good for 30.4%
The ball movement was better in comparison to recent games against Boston and Milwaukee. The Magic registered 28 assists which included 8 from Magic rookie Cole Anthony. This game saw Anthony looking more comfortable on the floor in this encounter.
NOT ENOUGH MAGIC ON DEFENCE
Orlando again saw a familiar problem in the game as they were unable to defend the 3 ball. Brooklyn connected on 16 of 35 attempts from beyond the arc, good enough for 45.7%. The night was carried by an unstoppable Durant doing most of the damage hitting on 5 of 8.
MOVING ON
A full game review by Josh Cohen on the Orlando Magic website can be read here.
Next up is a UK friendly tip off on Martin Luther King Jr Day on Monday at 17:00 against the New York Knicks.
