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 It will start with Victor Oladipo.
Oladipo, the second-year guard from Indiana, continued to assert
himself with increasing confidence Friday night, leading his Magic
to a 119-114 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Oladipo, who had a career-high 38 points in Wednesday's loss, had 32
points, a season-high 10 assists and a career-high five steals
Friday, taking charge down the stretch once again.
He clearly learned from what went wrong two nights before.
"I was just taking what the defense was giving me tonight, making
sure everyone was getting involved," he said. "I had to step it up
at both ends of the floor. I know I can score, but it's not about
scoring every time. It's about making the right play. Tonight I did
that."
The Magic (20-43) snapped a four-game losing streak, despite playing
without leading scorer Nikola Vucevic (sore ankle). Oladipo made
sure it didn't hurt them offensively.
Forward Channing Frye had 22 points, including a pair of free throws
with six seconds remaining. He made six of nine shots from 3-point
range. Forward Tobias Harris had 19 points, including the final four
free throws in the last three seconds. Reserve forward Andrew
Nicholson had 14 points. Reserve Ben Gordan had 12. Rookie point
guard Elfrid Payton had 10 points and 12 assists.
Forward Rudy Gay led the Kings (21-39) with 39 points and eight
rebounds. Center DeMarcus Cousins had 29 points and 12 rebounds.
Guard Ray McCallum had 13 points. Reserve forward Omri Casspi had
12.
Harris hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with :28 remaining for the 113-111
lead. He and Frye combined to hit the final six free throws.
"This was a good win for us," Frye said. "Everyone playing their
role. Victor is doing a great job. He's such a tremendous athlete
who is still learning, showing patience when he needs to, and taking
charge when the situation calls for it. You can see him growing as a
player."
The Kings (21-39) lost for the fourth time in the last five games.
They play Saturday night in Miami.
"We dug a hole that was so big early, it was difficult to come back
from," Kings coach George Karl said. "We were not very good
defensively, but our turnovers made it worse. It was a hard-fought
loss."
The Magic took a 110-106 lead on a 3-pointer by Frye with 1:26
remaining, but Cousins hit two free throws and Caspi hit three more
with :32 remaining for the 111-110 lead. Caspi was fouled behind the
line by Magic rookie forward Aaron Gordon.
The Kings took their first lead of the game, 100-99, on a 3-point
basket by reserve guard Nik Stauskas with 6:30 remaining. The Magic,
though, answered with back-to-back baskets by Payton and Oladipo.
Cousins led the Kings rally early in the fourth by scoring five
consecutive points.
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After falling behind by 18 points early in the second half, the
Kings closed the gap to 92-86 going into the final period. Gay had
10 points in the third period to lead the charge.
The Magic led, 68-57, at intermission, riding another hot-shooting
start. They made 29 of 44 shots (67 percent) in the first half. They
also made seven of 13 from 3-pointer range.
The Magic, who led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter,
set season highs for most points in the first quarter (35) and most
points in the first half (68). Oladipo had 19 points and seven
assists by halftime.
Gay had 20 points and Cousins 17 points at halftime. They held an
early 23-17 edge in rebounds.
The Magic, who made 15 of their first 20 shots, scored first and
never trailed in the opening two periods.
NOTES: The Magic were without leading scorer C Nikola Vucevice (sore
left ankle). Also missing were reserves G Luke Ridnour (right
hamstring), G Evan Fournier (sore hip) and G Willie Green (sore
right Achilles). ... The Kings are still without G Darren Collison,
who missed his 12th consecutive game with a core muscle injury that
was surgically repaired March 3. ... The Magic won the earlier
meeting in Sacramento by nine points when Kings All-Star DeMarcus
Cousins sat out with viral meningitis. ... Magic G Victor Oladip
said his 38-point effort on Wednesday was the most points he has
scored in a game on any level of basketball, dating to his childhood
in Washington, D.C. "We need more of that from him," Magic coach
James Borrego said. ... Both teams have changed coaches during the
season. Since taking over in Sacramento, George Karl was 3-4 coming
into Friday and Borrego was 4-6 in Orlando. ... This was Game No. 3
on a season-long, eight-game road trip for the Kings. ... Karl was
asked before the game to assess his team's future. "It's a team
that, with a couple tweaks, can contend for a playoff (spot). If we
make some good decisions, we should be in the low 40's (wins), and
if they change the system where the top 16 teams make the playoffs,
it'll give us a chance," Karl said.
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