Magic halt four-game skid with 115-109 win
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Nikola Vucevic scored a season-high 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic to a 115-109 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night at Moda Center.
Elfrid Payton contributed 19 points and seven assists as the Magic (17-24) snapped a four-game losing streak.
Damian Lillard collected 34 points and eight rebounds and CJ McCollum added 26 points for the Trail Blazers (18-24), who had won two in a row.
Vucevic had 18 points and six rebounds to carry Orlando to a 54-49 advantage at the half. Lillard scored 17 points before the break for the Blazers, who shot only 35.4 percent from the field in the half.
Portland outscored Orlando 14-4 to take a 63-58 lead early in the third quarter. The Magic fought back for an 80-75 advantage.
With McCollum scoring 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the floor in the quarter, the Blazers drew within 82-78 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Magic extended the margin to 90-85 with nine minutes remaining and were still on top 99-93 with 5:33 to play. Lillard's driving layup cut it to 103-99 with 2:50 left.
Vucevic nailed a jumper from the top of the key to make it 105-101 with 1:44 left. Lillard sank two foul shots to cut it to 105-103 with 1:35 to go, but Payton hit a 3-point shot and it was 108-103 with 1:12 remaining.
When Vucevic made another jumper with 41 seconds left, Orlando's lead was up to 110-103.
Lillard's 3-pointer closed the gap to 112-107 with 21.1 seconds on the clock, and after an Orlando turnover, McCollum scored on a drive with 15.9 seconds to go, making it 112-109.
Evan Fournier hit one of two at the line for a 113-109 lead with 14.0 seconds remaining. D.J. Augustin wrapped it up with two free throws with 3.4 seconds left.
Making its first eight shots from the field, Orlando jumped to an 18-1 lead in the game's first four minutes. Portland used a 10-2 spurt to get to within 20-11, but the Magic stayed hot, sinking 14 of 20 shots from the field en route to a 36-23 lead after one quarter. Lillard had 15 points in the quarter for the Blazers.
Portland kept coming, whittling the difference to 50-47 with four minutes left in the second quarter. The Magic took a five-point edge into intermission.
NOTES: The Trail Blazers entered as winners four straight over the Magic at Moda Center. ... Orlando PF Serge Ibaka, who missed Wednesday's loss to the L.A. Clippers at Staples Center with a sore right shoulder, is expected to start Friday. ... Orlando F Aaron Gordon followed a two-point performance on 0-of-6 shooting from the floor against the L.A. Lakers with a 28-point outburst on 11 of 17 against the Clippers. "More consistency would be nice," coach Frank Vogel said. ... Portland held four of its last nine opponents below 90 points. Coach Terry Stotts said the return of F Al-Farouq Aminu from injury has helped the Blazers' defensive play. "'Chief' should get a lot of credit for that," Stotts said. "He often gets overlooked." ... Portland G Tim Quarterman was assigned to the D-League's Windy City Bulls. He is expected to join the Blazers during their upcoming four-game road trip, which opens Monday at Washington.