Magic 102, Jazz 93
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Evan Fournier scored 21 points and Tobias Harris added 19 points and 13 rebounds as the Orlando Magic cruised to a 102-93 win over the Utah Jazz on Friday night.
Center Nikola Vucevic added 16 points and nine rebounds and point guard Elfrid Payton had 16 points and six assists for the Magic.
Forward Gordon Hayward and guard Trey Burke led Utah with 16 points apiece. Guard Alec Burks was the only other Jazz player in double figures with 11.
The Magic had a 22-point lead early in the second quarter and weren't seriously challenged until late in the game when Utah got within 97-90 on a 3-pointer by forward Joe Ingles with 1:10 left.
Payton made three free throws and had a steal and an assist in the final minute to keep the Jazz at bay.
The Magic built a big early lead and saw their advantage dip below double digits only once before the final minute of the game. That came when Burke fueled a 17-4 stretch in the middle of the second quarter that cut the Magic lead to 41-32 with 5:27 left before halftime.
Utah didn't help itself with an atrocious start that included 1-of-9 shooting from the field and six turnovers in the first eight minutes of the game and a 25-7 deficit.
Center Rudy Gobert's absence was obvious as the Magic exploited the middle of the Jazz defense, creating easy shots for Vucevic and uncontested 3-pointers for everyone else.
Gobert's replacement, Derrick Favors, picked up two fouls in the first four minutes trying to stop Vucevic, who hit four of his first five shots from the floor.
Four teammates contributed a 3-pointer apiece as Orlando went up 33-15 by the end of the quarter.
For some reason, the Magic abandoned Vucevic in the second quarter -- he took only one shot and made it -- and focused on lobbing up contested perimeter jumpers. Orlando shot 25 percent from the field in the quarter, giving Utah some hope.
Burke and Jeff Withey dragged the Jazz back slowly but surely, cutting the deficit to 52-40 by halftime.
Little changed in a sluggish third quarter during which neither team had a run of more than five straight points. Fournier's 3-pointer gave Orlando a 17-point lead going to the fourth quarter.
NOTES: The Jazz are 7-1 in their last eight meetings with the Magic. ... Jazz F Gordon Hayward is averaging a career-high 19.3 points per game. He's on pace to increase his scoring average by more than two points for the fifth straight season. ... The Jazz played without starting C Rudy Gobert (ankle) and F Rodney Hood (foot). The Magic were missing starting G Victor Oladipo (concussion) and top reserve C Jason Smith (sore knee). ... Magic PG Elfrid Payton was 1 of 13 from the field in his last game. ... C Nikola Vucevic had started 223 straight times since coming to Orlando but came off the bench for the first time in the Magic's last game. ... Utah was No. 1 in the NBA in defense last season and the Jazz are even better this season. They are allowing 90 points per game, 4.9 points better than the 2014-2015 team. Opponents also are shooting just 41.6 percent from the field, third best in the NBA. "There is a pride that goes with that and it's infectious," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "We work on it like crazy and players don't always like that, but they've learned to embrace it. When it becomes part of your DNA, it's something that just feeds itself."