Vucevic Leads Magic to Win over Lakers

With a big performance from big man Nikola Vucevic, the Orlando Magic beat the Los Angeles Lakers 108-104.

After losing two straight, the Magic were able to hold off a late fourth-quarter run to take down L.A. With the win, Orlando swept the season series against the Lakers. This is the second time in franchise history that the Magic have done this.

Game Recap

The Magic got off to a slow start, struggling to contain Lakers’ forward Kyle Kuzma. Kuzma scored 13 points in the first quarter, helping the Lakers jump out to a 29-19 lead after the first quarter.

However, in the second quarter, the Magic got hot.

They hit seven three-pointers in the period, outscoring the Lakers 32-23 in the quarter.

Vucevic led Orlando in the period, scoring 11 of his 15 first-half points in the second quarter. This included a fast-break dunk that swung the momentum to Orlando’s side.

.@NIKOLAVUCEVIC ON THE BREAK 💨 https://t.co/pELFUQuh1U

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) November 25, 2018

After going down by ten points after the first quarter, the Magic cut the deficit to just one point going into the locker room for halftime.

However, the break did not slow the Orlando offense.

Aaron Gordon hit Orlando’s first four field goals, leading the Magic to another dominant quarter.

Gordon even pulled out one of his dunk contest-esque slams after a nice pass from Vucevic.

OH MY, @DOUBLE0AG 👀 https://t.co/Hy3I8lV8uE

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) November 25, 2018

Vucevic had a big slam dunk on his own, posting up on Lebron James and spinning around him for another dunk.

V🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀CH https://t.co/YD5fR7LrXa

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) November 25, 2018

After three-quarters of play, Orlando built a solid lead over L.A., 86-71.

However, the Lakers offense began to click again as the fourth quarter started. After cutting down the 15 point-deficit, the Lakers went on a 14-4 run to tie the game with under 3 minutes left.

Then, with under a minute left, Orlando’s Terrence Ross drove in for a layup to retake the lead 106-104.

After a Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed three-pointer on the other end, the Magic again scored off an Aaron Gordon dunk to seal the win for the Magic.

https://twitter.com/OrlandoMagic/status/1066827373117669376

Stats That Mattered

Vucevic led both teams in scoring, putting up 31 points. He also pulled down 15 rebounds and recorded seven assists.

Terrence Ross proved to be a spark for Orlando. Along with his game-winning layup, Ross scored 16 points off the bench.

For the Lakers, Lebron James led the team, scoring 24 points along with four rebounds and seven assists.

What’s Next?

The Magic will stay in California to take on the Golden State Warriors tonight.

The Lakers will travel to Denver to play the Nuggets on Tuesday.