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 The win was Orlando's first on the road since a 105-97 victory over
the Philadelphia 76ers on Nov. 7.
After coming all the way back to tie the score late in regulation,
Minnesota had several chances to retake the lead for the first time
since the game was 2-0, but couldn't take advantage.
Down by two late, Timberwolves guard Andrew Wiggins had a chance to
tie the game at 94 with 5.7 seconds remaining, but missed the second
of two free throws.
After Andrew Nicholson made both of his free throws on the other
end, Wiggins missed a chance to tie it with a three at the horn.
"We're glad to get the win for sure, but we're not happy with how we
kind of just stopped doing what was working," Magic coach Scott
Skiles said. "Our offense and defense started to let down at the
same time."
Orlando was led by center Nikola Vucevic, who had 18 points to go
with 12 rebounds and four assists. He was one of six Magic players
to score in double figures.
"We're happy that we were able to close this game out," Vucevic
said. "A lot of the time, since I got to the Magic, we've had leads
and we weren't able to close out those games. We did that tonight."
Nicholson scored 12 points off the bench in the first half as
Orlando led 54-41 at the break.
The Magic led by 17 on three different occasions in the third
quarter, including a 70-53 lead with 5:20 left on a 19-footer by
forward Tobias Harris.
But Minnesota slowly chipped away, led Wiggins and guard Kevin
Martin.
Wiggins finished with a game-high 27 points and Martin scored seven
of the Wolves' final nine points in the third quarter to draw
Minnesota back within nine headed to the fourth.
"We fought hard," Wiggins said "We put ourselves in that position in
the first half. But we fought hard in the third and fourth quarter."
Minnesota pulled even on a jumper by Wiggins with 4:35 remaining in
the final quarter, but Zach LaVine missed a 3-pointer and Wiggins
drive to the rim was blocked. Minnesota also had a shot clock
violation.
Magic guard Victor Oladipo followed up a strong two-handed dunk with
a 3-pointer to give Orlando a five-point lead with 2:17 to play.
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"He made a couple of big plays for us," Skiles said.
The Wolves shot 37.7 percent from the floor, and shot only 81
percent from the line on 38 free throws. Orlando outscored Minnesota
46-32 in the paint.
"We didn't make shots again," Wolves interim coach Sam Mitchell
said. "We're moving the ball, we're getting open looks. We didn't
make shots."
Nicholson finished with 15 points. Oladipo and forward Tobias Harris
each had 13 points. Guard Elfrid Payton chipped in with 14 points
and eight rebounds.
Martin was one of four players in double figures for Minnesota.
LaVine had 12 points, five rebounds and five assists and center
Gorgui Dieng had 11 points to go with seven boards off the bench as
the Wolves dropped to 2-7 on their home court this season. Minnesota
is 6-3 on the road.
NOTES: Timberwolves G Ricky Rubio returned to the lineup after
missing two games with a sore ankle. ... Timberwolves C Nikola
Pekovic (recovery from Achilles tendon surgery) participated in
shoot-around prior to Tuesday's game. He could practice in the next
couple of weeks and is expected to return to game action in
mid-January. ... The Magic will continue their five-game road trip
on Thursday against the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena. ... The
Timberwolves will continue their four-game homestand on Saturday
against the Portland Trail Blazers.
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