Pelicans at Magic
The Orlando Magic have reached the point where a close loss is more than just a momentary disappointment. The Magic will try to avoid one bad performance from becoming a trend when they host the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday.
Orlando’s play over the last two months has raised expectations, and a 108-101 home loss to the Miami Heat that featured a blown lead and breakdowns in the second half on both ends is no longer a game-by-game occurrence. “During the area of the game when we started getting greedy offensively and not playing as a team, they had layup, layup, layup, layup – four, five or six layups in a row – and a tip-in and an and-one,” Magic coach Scott Skiles told reporters. “So we were breaking down on both ends of the floor.” The 10-20 Pelicans can relate, though the performance down the stretch in a win on Saturday and victories in three of the last four games could mark a change in fortune. “I just thought we hung in through the ups and downs,” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry told reporters after Saturday’s 110-108 win over Houston. “It was a roller-coaster, but in the end, when we had to make stops and when it really counted, we held them to 17 points in the fourth quarter. It was a good win for us against a real, real quality team.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN New Orleans, FSN Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE PELICANS (10-20): Jrue Holiday made the key defensive stop on James Harden down the stretch on Saturday and believes defense is the catalyst for the team. “It brings some sort of pride, like you had to work for it,” Holiday told reporters. “Obviously when you win, it feels a lot better, especially against a good team like that. I think as a team, we definitely came together during that last stretch of the game.” Holiday is backed up on the defensive end by Anthony Davis, who has blocked at least three shots in each of the last five games.
ABOUT THE MAGIC (17-13): Orlando was outscored 39-25 in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s loss, which marked just the second setback in the last seven games. “When we played really well defensively we were able to build a nice lead and going into halftime you could just tell that it was hard for (the Heat) to get what they wanted,” center Nikola Vucevic told reporters. “We were really physical, moving around and really talking and then in the second half we didn’t do the same things.” Vucevic is a big part of the team’s recent success and is averaging 22.8 points and 9.4 rebounds in the last five games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Magic F Tobias Harris is shooting 56.6 percent from the field in the last five games.
2. Pelicans C Alexis Ajinca (calf) sat out the last five games and remains day-to-day.
3. Vucevic had 22 points and 13 rebounds in a 103-94 win at New Orleans on Nov. 3.