Magic knock off Raptors 102-94
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Serge Ibaka and Evan Fournier each scored 20 points and the Orlando Magic defeated the Toronto Raptors 102-94 on Friday night at Amway Center.
The Magic played strong defense in the third quarter to take a seven-point lead, but the Raptors battled back.
Kyle Lowry hit a 3-pointer, his first of the game in nine tries, and drew a foul for a four-point play to bring the Raptors within one.
The Magic responded, though. Fournier got to the rim and made a basket with a foul.
Then Orlando got a stop and found C.J. Watson for a transition 3-pointer. It moved the lead back to seven points as part of an 8-0 run midway through the fourth quarter that gave the Magic the breathing room they needed.
Orlando (20-32) opened the third quarter with a 10-1 run. Nikola Vucevic scored 14 of his 18 points in the quarter. He alone outscored the Raptors 14-12 as Toronto (30-21) made just 4 of 21 shots from the field in the quarter.
The Raptors finished at 39.1 percent from the floor and 10 of 28 from beyond the arc.
The Magic struggled to pull away from the Raptors but found the scoring they needed every time Toronto made a run in the second half.
Fournier added a career-high 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. Nikola Vucevic and C.J. Watson each finished with 18 points for the Magic.
Lowry, playing without running mate DeMar DeRozan for the third straight game, scored 18 points but made just 2 of 11 3-pointers, missing his first eight from beyond the arc. Jonas Valanciunas also scored 18 points and had 11 rebounds.
NOTES: Raptors SG DeMar DeRozan missed his sixth game in the last seven with an injured ankle. Norman Powell started in his place. ... Toronto PG Kyle Lowry is two 3-pointers shy of Morris Peterson's franchise record of 801 career 3-pointers. Lowry is a career 42.7 percent 3-point shooter and has reached that mark in just five seasons while Peterson needed seven. Coach Dwane Casey said that is both a sign of Lowry's 3-point acumen and a sign of the times as the league has seen the 3-point shot grow in importance. ... Orlando Magic coach Frank Vogel said he did not watch Aaron Gordon's dunk contest performance until the morning after. Now that he is Gordon's coach, he said he will watch his encore performance live, jokingly saying he would offer him tips as needed.