Magic take advantage of Pelicans
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Serge Ibaka and Evan Fournier each scored 16 points to lead the Orlando Magic to a 89-82 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night at the Amway Center.
The Magic (5-7) led throughout much of the game. The Pelicans (2-10) struggled to find any rhythm without leading scorer and rebounder Anthony Davis, who missed the game with a strained quad muscle.
Terrence Jones, who started in place of Davis, led the Pelicans with 26 points. Reserve Langston Galloway had 15 points and guard E'Twaun Moore scored 14.
Magic center Nikola Vucevic had 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Reserve guard D.J. Augustin and forward Damjan Rudez each had 11 points. Rudez hit three of four 3-pointers.
Pelicans center Omer Asik failed to score but had team-high 10 rebounds. Magic forward Aaron Gordon had 10 points.
Rookie Buddy Hield hit back-to-back shots early in the fourth quarter to give the Pelicans a 70-69 advantage, their first lead since the first quarter but their last lead of the game. The Magic rebounded with 3-pointers by Augustin and Rudez and never trailed again.
Gordon hit a 3-pointer for the 84-79 Magic lead with 4:19 remaining. Vucevic hit back-to-back baskets in the closing minute to ice the win.
Jones scored 12 points in the third quarter when he sparked a New Orleans comeback, cutting the deficit from 14 points to one. Dante Cunningham hit a 3-pointer to pull the Pelicans to 62-61.
The Magic, who made just 5 of 26 shots from the field in the third quarter, still led 65-63 going into the fourth.
The Magic led 52-40 at intermission, riding a flurry of 3-pointers in the second quarter. Ibaka had 12 points and Fournier 10 before halftime. Both hit two of their three 3-point attempts in that first half.
The Magic led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter when they made 6 of 9 from 3-point range. Jones, who replaced Davis in the starting lineup, had 11 points and four rebounds in the first half.
The Pelicans were out of sync early, making just 14 of 43 shots from the floor (32.6 percent) and committing nine turnovers.
NOTES: Magic C Nikola Vucevic, who led the Magic in scoring in each of the past two seasons, came into the night averaging just 10.9 points, his lowest average since he joined the team in 2012. In the previous three games, he made just 5 of 32 shots from the field. "It's never happened to me that I shoot so poorly from the field," he said. ... Pelicans PG Jrue Holiday is expected to make his season debut Friday at home against the Trail Blazers. Holiday has been on indefinite leave while caring for his seriously ill wife, former U.S. women's national soccer team star Lauren Holiday, and their newborn daughter. ... Pelicans G E'Twaun Moore, who played for the Magic last season, returned Wednesday after sitting out Monday night with a toe injury.