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 Orlando has had six games decided by five points or less already
this season and almost let another one go that way before closing
out the Utah Jazz 102-93 on Friday night.
Orlando led by 23 points with just over seven minutes to go but let
Utah climb back to 97-90 with 1:10 left in the game.
"We did a good job building up to it, but we definitely got to work
on finishing games," said Magic point guard Elfrid Payton, who had
three free throws, one steal and assist in the final minute to keep
the Magic comfortably ahead.
Shooting guard Evan Fournier, who led the Magic with 21 points,
said, "It shouldn't be that hard to sustain when you're playing
well. We just have to find a way to make it last for 48 minutes."
Forward Tobias Harris added 19 points and 13 rebounds and center
Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Magic.
Utah, playing its third game in four nights, was sluggish for most
of the game. The Jazz trailed by 22 early in the second quarter and
were down by double digits most of the game before making a
last-ditch comeback in the fourth quarter.
Forward Gordon Hayward and guard Trey Burke led Utah with 16 points
apiece. Guard Alec Burks was the only other Jazz player to score in
double figures with 11.
"We were running on fumes," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "To be
honest with you, to be down 20 in the first quarter and to come back
and fight back and fight back -- the game could have easily got out
of hand. The team showed a lot of pride."
Burke said, "With this back-to-back, we were a little tired, but
that's not an excuse. If we had come out with more energy, more
juice, we could have given ourselves a chance to win at the end."
The Magic built a big early lead and saw their advantage dip below
double digits only once before the final minute of the game. That
came when Burke fueled a 17-4 stretch in the middle of the second
quarter that cut the Magic lead to 41-32 with 5:27 left before
halftime.
Utah didn't help itself with an atrocious start that included 1-of-9
shooting from the field and six turnovers in the first eight minutes
of the game and a 25-7 deficit.
Center Rudy Gobert's absence was obvious as the Magic exploited the
middle of the Jazz defense, creating easy shots for Vucevic and
uncontested 3-pointers for everyone else.
"We were really sharp," Magic coach Scott Skiles said. "We had nice
screening angles, our spacing was good overall, we were pretty much
on time and on target with our passing, just really pretty good
stuff."
Gobert's replacement, Derrick Favors, picked up two fouls in the
first four minutes trying to stop Vucevic, who hit four of his first
five shots from the floor.
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Four teammates contributed a 3-pointer apiece as Orlando went up
33-15 by the end of the quarter.
For some reason, the Magic abandoned Vucevic in the second quarter
-- he took only one shot and made it -- and focused on lobbing up
contested perimeter jumpers. Orlando shot 25 percent from the field
in the quarter, giving Utah some hope.
Burke and Jeff Withey dragged the Jazz back slowly but surely,
cutting the deficit to 52-40 by halftime.
Little changed in a sluggish third quarter during which neither team
had a run of more than five straight points. Fournier's 3-pointer
gave Orlando a 17-point lead going to the fourth quarter.
NOTES: The Jazz are 7-1 in their last eight meetings with the Magic.
... Jazz F Gordon Hayward is averaging a career-high 19.3 points per
game. He's on pace to increase his scoring average by more than two
points for the fifth straight season. ... The Jazz played without
starting C Rudy Gobert (ankle) and F Rodney Hood (foot). The Magic
were missing starting G Victor Oladipo (concussion) and top reserve
C Jason Smith (sore knee). ... Magic PG Elfrid Payton was 1 of 13
from the field in his last game. ... C Nikola Vucevic had started
223 straight times since coming to Orlando but came off the bench
for the first time in the Magic's last game. ... Utah was No. 1 in
the NBA in defense last season and the Jazz are even better this
season. They are allowing 90 points per game, 4.9 points better than
the 2014-2015 team. Opponents also are shooting just 41.6 percent
from the field, third best in the NBA. "There is a pride that goes
with that and it's infectious," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "We
work on it like crazy and players don't always like that, but
they've learned to embrace it. When it becomes part of your DNA,
it's something that just feeds itself."
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