DETROIT PISTONS 112 – 116 ORLANDO MAGIC
And breath!
God forbid the Magic ever make life easy with a blowout win.
Blowing A Double Digit Lead
Having gone 22 points up midway through the second quarter we proceeded to throw that lead away, managing to go in only 4 points up at the half.
As we went into the 4th quarter we held a 6 point lead. However, by the 6:30 mark we were 7 points down after having gone the first 6 minutes of the quarter without making a field goal!
Through strong defensive play, plus Aaron Gordon hitting shots & free throws the Magic came back. Drawing level with 1 minute to go at 103-103 every fan was on tenterhooks.
With less than 8 seconds remaining Nikola Vucevic hit a 3 point shot that hit the iron 7 times before dropping to give us the lead.
At the 2 second mark Reggie Jackson hit a 3 point shot to tie the game but came from a clear offensive foul by Christian Wood & should not have counted. This sent the Magic into our first overtime game of the season where we finally got the job done!
Good Contributions
I will say a win is a win but it was not in the way we should have taken it. This win was against a team who are in some difficulties as I highlighted in the game preview.
We got contributions virtually across the whole team but Aaron Gordon led the way with almost a triple double (25 pts, 9 reb, 9 ast, 1 sto & 1 blk). Markelle Fultz produced his 3rd double double this season & without a turn over again (22 pts, 10 ast, 5 reb & 2 stl). Vooch produced his 27th double double (19 pts, 11 reb, 7 ast, 3 stl & 1 blk) of the season.
We are now 20 & 2 when leading at the end of the 3rd quarter, sitting at a 15 & 1 win record when we score at least 110 points in a game.
We have a marginally better record than last season after 55 games, currently being 24-31 whereas last season we were at 23-32.
The Playoff Picture
Looking at what the results from last night mean in terms of the playoff race:
As already highlighted we now have a 24 & 31 record, remaining 8th in the Eastern Conference. The Nets also won last night, beating the Raptors 91-101.
The Nets remain 7th & now have a 25-28 record, with 1 win more & 2 games in hand on the Magic. We face the Nets 3 times between now & the season end in games that will be pivotal in the seeding positions. We lead the series 1-0 at this point.
The Wizards also won last night beating the Knicks 114-96. The Wizards remain in 9th, are 20-33, being 4 wins back from us but they have 2 games in hand. We have swept the series against them already at 4-0.
All Star Break
We go into the All Star Weekend with a little momentum having won 2 consecutive games (albeit games we should win). We next face the Dallas Mavericks on Friday 21st February in the Amway.
