Image courtesy of Michael Tipton/Flickr.
One day after firing former head coach, Jacque Vaughn, the Orlando Magic set their sights on the Los Angeles Lakers. With James Borrego taking over the reigns, the Magic were able to get a big game from Tobias Harris and finally get a win against the Lakers.
The Magic got off to an unsurprisingly bad start. It seemed like they would turn the ball over on every possession in the first few minutes of the game thanks to the Lakers forcing six turnovers into eight points. However, the team got their head on straight coming out of a timeout and went on a 12-3 run to take the lead. The Magic would go into the second quarter leading 26-23.
The Magic got even sloppier in the second quarter as they struggled on both ends of the floor. The Lakers playing with a sense of urgency were able to force the Magic into committing seven turnovers for 12 points. Taking advantage of the glass, the Lakers were able to grab eight offensive rebounds for 11 second-chance points. The Lakers pushed their lead to as many as 13 heading into the half, leading the Magic 51-38.
After scoring just 12 points in the second quarter, the Magic managed to score 31 points in the third quarter. With their struggles continuing on the defensive end of the floor, the Magic were able to find their rhythm offensively by tallying nine assists on 13 makes from the floor. While the Magic got things going offensively, so too did Ryan Kelly, who scored 15 points for the Lakers in the third. The Magic would trail 78-69 heading into the fourth.
The Magic and Lakers would go tic for tac in the fourth, with Orlando taking a lead in the early minutes of the fourth, and the Lakers answering back minutes later. Neither team would be able to put together a good or a series of stops to win the game. With Nikola Vucevic tying the game at 91, the Lakers had a chance to ice the game, but Wayne Ellington‘s shot came up short and both teams would head into overtime.
In overtime, Tobias would make a big bank shot before Wesley Johnson makes an even bigger three to take the lead for a brief moment. A couple of baskets by the Magic later, Victor Oladipo would strip the ball from Jordan Clarkson to ice the game for the Magic, thus earning interim head coach, James Borrego, his first career coaching win for the Magic.
Ryan Kelly lead the Lakers with 20 points on 5-of-6 shooting from three. Carlos Boozer, Jeremy Lin, and Jordan Clarkson each put up 14 points apiece Wayne Ellington and Robert Sacre both finished with 10 points.
Tobias Harris had a big night for the Magic with a season-high 34 points. Nikola Vucevic had 25 points and 13 rebounds, and Victor Oladipo had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
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