After the Miami Heat snapped their two-game winning streak on Monday night, the Brooklyn Nets could not bounce back and received a second straight loss against the Orlando Magic.
Orlando Dominates First Half
Brooklyn started the game with an 8-2 lead and made their first 6-of-7 field goals. Late in the first period, Orlando went on a 9-0 run and began to change things around. The Magic scored eight fast break points in the first 12 minutes of the game while Aaron Gordon scored 13 points and went 6-of-6 from the floor which including some highlight dunks. Elfrid Payton distributed the ball a lot early on with six assists. Below is a highlight dunk from Gordon
Orlando continued to chip away in the second frame and went on a 22-6 run. They tallied a total of 41 points in the frame and were leading 73-45 by halftime. After two quarters, the Magic were shooting 66 percent from the field while Brooklyn was at 42 percent. The Nets had 10 turnovers and were getting outscored in bench points, 30-16. A total of 10 players played in the first half for Orlando and all but one scored at least two points.
Magic Remained Consist In Second Half
Although Brooklyn displayed a much more efficient offensive second half, Orlando’s offense did not slow down. The Magic were able to reach the 100 scoring mark by the third stanza of the game and outscore the Nets 66-60 in the second half. Brook Lopez, Bojan Bogdanovic and Donald Sloan did not play in the second half to due to the Coach’s decision.
Top Performers
Gordon finished with 20 points while Andrew Nicholson scored 24 points off the bench. Evan Fournier and Dewayne Dedmon had 15 points apiece. Payton piled up the stat sheet with 11 points, 12 assists, five rebounds and two steals. Orlando had a total of eight players in double figures. Thomas Robinson lead the Nets with 18 points and 12 boards. The Magic concluded the game shooting 61 percent from the field and notched 40 assists.
Nets’ Quotes
In the post-game interview, head coach Tony Brown said “Nothing we were doing on either end of the floor was working. As a group, we didn’t get it done”.He also added “Clearly, Scott [Skiles] had his team ready to play and I didn’t".
Other Things To Note
-Thaddeus Young and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson both sat out due to rest.
-Sean Kilpatrick had his 10th straight game where he scored 10 or more points.
-The Magic have won back-to-back games for the first time since early February.
- The 74 point first half was the most points allowed in a half by the Nets since December 2nd of 2009. Also, the 139 points were the most points allowed by an opponent this season.
-Gordon was two points shy of tying his career-high.
-Last season, the Nets defeated Orlando in their season finale game to advance to the post-season.
Up Next
Both teams will return back to action on Thursday, March 31st at 7:00 P.M. EST. Brooklyn will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers while Orlando faces-off against the Indiana Pacers.