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Evan Fournier had 24 points while Aaron Gordon
posted a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) for the Magic
(31-35), who moved past the Nets (30-35) into seventh place in
the Eastern Conference. The top seven teams are guaranteed a
playoff spot. The eighth-place team advances to the postseason
as the final seed if it is at least four games better than the
ninth-place team at the end of the regular season. Otherwise, a
two-game series will be played to determine the eighth seed.
Starters Nikola Vucevic (22 points) and D.J. Augustin (11
points) got into double digits for the Magic, as did reserves
Jonathan Isaac (16 points) and Khem Birch (12 points).
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 24 points off the bench for the
Nets, who remain six games ahead of the ninth-place Washington
Wizards after the Wizards lost to Phoenix later in the day.
Washington and Brooklyn face off on Sunday.
Caris LeVert had 17 points, Joe Harris and Jarrett Allen scored
14 points apiece, and Tyler Johnson added 11 points off the
bench.
The Nets raced out to a 16-8 lead fewer than four minutes into
the game. Orlando responded with its own 16-8 run during which
Augustin and Vucevic scored five points apiece. A running layup
by Markelle Fultz with 2:33 left in the quarter gave the Magic
their first lead at 29-27.
The two teams were separated by no more than five points through
the first nine minutes of the second quarter before the Magic's
surge. Five players scored a basket apiece during the run,
including Fournier, whose 3-pointer put Orlando up 68-57.
LeVert made a buzzer-beating jumper to pull the Nets within
70-59 at halftime but Vucevic scored five points as the Magic
opened the third quarter with a 10-2 run. A LeVert jumper
brought the Nets within 86-70 with 7:31 left in the period, but
Orlando went on a 21-7 run over the next five minutes to expand
its lead to 107-77.
But the Magic went scoreless in the final 6:59 and
Luwawu-Cabarrot scored eight points during a game-ending 18-0
run. Brooklyn had a chance to close within single digits but
missed five straight 3-pointers in a 63-second span.
--Field Level Media
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