Written by Anthony Abruzzo
Orlando Magic squander an 11 point lead in the fourth quarter and lose to the Portland Trailblazers by the final score of 112-103.
Damian Lillard of the Trailblazers flat out took over the game in the fourth quarter, hitting shot after shot as he scored 17 of his 33 points in the quarter and was one of the main reasons why the Magic lost this game. Orlando Magic Head Coach Frank Vogel had this to say about Lillard and their woes after the game.
“A little bit of everything. We had a few turnovers and blocked shots that led to them getting out of the break,” Vogel said. “But by in large, you have to credit Damian Lillard and the Blazers. They came out and made a lot of big shots, big plays on the offensive end and give credit to the Blazers.”
It wasn’t like this the whole game as the Magic had a great first half. In the first quarter, the game was tight and both teams got off to slow starts and no one lead by as much as three.
In the second quarter, it was a game of runs as the Magic went on a 13-3 run to start the second and lead 37-26 with a little over seven minutes left. Then the Blazers went on a nice run as well and got the back to 44-41 at one point. Then near the end of the half, Magic went on another run and got the game back to up to 11 and led at the half 55-46.
In the first half, they forced 14 turnovers which were a big part of why they had a great first half, but they only forced five turnovers in the second half. Coach Vogel on the impact of making those kinds of hustle plays that can help them win in the future.
“It’s easier to make hustle plays when you’re smaller and quicker than your opponent,” Vogel said. “That’s something we haven’t had all year, something we saw in the first half, wasn’t good enough in the second half because they downsized and that’s something that has to be a part of us for the rest of this year.”
In the second half, the Magic started on a 13-9 run to get the lead up to 13. Then the Blazers got the game back to within three before the Magic took over again and hit a key three before the end of the third quarter to get the back up to eight at the end of the third.
Obviously, it changed in the fourth when Lillard took over the game and the Magic couldn’t really do anything about it and that’s what cost the Magic in the end.
Also, Terrence Ross made his debut tonight and couldn’t get out of the box at first but looked really comfortable during his first game. He had 13 points on 4-17 shooting. Coach Vogel on how Ross looked comfortable in his debut.
“I liked how aggressive he was,” Vogel said. “He took a few bad shots. I liked him being assertive on the offensive end. I certainly don’t think every night especially with the looks that he got and we’ll talk about his shot selection and clean that up a little bit and make him more efficient. He’s a good basketball player. He showed that on both ends of the court.”
For the Blazers, Lillard finished the game with 33 points, CJ McCollum scored 22 points, and six assists and the newest Blazer, and Jusuf Nurkic had a good all-around game as he had 12 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocks. Seems like he fits their system really well.
Standout players for the Magic was Nikola Vucevic who had 25 points, and nine boards, and Evan Fournier who had 20 points as well.
With the loss, the Magic are now 21-38 on the season and will have a quick turnaround when they host the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday, February 25th, 2017.
