Magic cap celebration with rout
The night started with glimpses into the Orlando Magic’s past: a video montage that included Nick Anderson’s playoff steal from Michael Jordan, Solomon an acroJones batic injures dunk by knee, out Tracy indefiMcGrady nitely. C6 and a game-winning shot by Hedo Turkoglu.
But over the two hours that followed, youngsters Maurice Harkless, Victor Oladipo, Kyle O’Quinn and Nik Vucevic offered hope for the future.
Ignited by their inexperienced nucleus and Arron Afflalo, the Magic celebrated their regular- season home opener by dominating the New Orleans Pelicans 110-90 at Amway Center.
“We wanted to go out there and stand for something,” O’Quinn said. “Get in front of the fans, the home fans, and at least protect something, protect the homecourt. I think that was our fuel tonight, the energy that was in the gym, all the 25th-anniversary stuff.”
The Magic (1-2) took control in the second quarter and never gave the Pelicans (0-2) room to recover as McGrady and his family
watched from courtside seats across from the Orlando bench.
Magic officials infused the night — the kickoff to their silver-anniversary festivities — with pageantry. Stuff, the team’s mascot, rappelled from the arena ceiling after the national anthem. Smoke and pyrotechnic effects spiced up the team’s pregame introductions, and point guard Jameer Nelson, the team’s longest-tenured veteran, received the loudest ovation.
Even Gov. Rick Scott attended the game, taking in the game from a luxury suite, team officials said.
Soon, the Magic’s two losses to begin the season seemed like a distant memory, even Wednesday night’s overtime heartbreaker in Minneapolis.
“These guys have gotten so much better, it makes the game so much easier for me,” said Afflalo, who scored a game- high 30 points on10-of-14 shooting.
The Magic received contributions from almost every healthy segment of their roster.
Harkless played more aggressively than he did all October, scoring 20 points and collecting eight rebounds. Oladipo added 10 points, six rebounds and six assists and a dazzling block of a 6-foot-11 center’s dunk attempt. And Vucevic scored 10 points and gathered seven boards.
“The first two games didn’t go how I wanted it to go individually or for our team,” Harkless said. “It was just on my mind just to bounce back tonight and not let it affect me coming into this game. That’s the theme about this league: You’ve got to forget about the last game and move on to the next one. Even to- night, I can’t dwell on this win too long.” He’s right. The Magic, a team most experts expect to end up near the Eastern Conference cellar, have a matchup Sunday against the Brookl yn Nets and a game Wednesday versus the Los Angeles Clippers.
Still, it’ll be difficult to forget about the win over New Orleans.
The Magic made almost 56 percent of their shots while the Pelicans managed to hit on just 35 percent of theirs.
In two words: a rout.
Oladipo and Harkless gave the Magic a lift late in the second quarter, keying a 12-2 Orlando run.
The two youngsters combined for those 12 points.
The run was capped after Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday missed a jumper, and Harkless grabbed the rebound. The ball eventually reached Nelson, who rocketed a crosscourt pass to Harkless, who sank a 3 fromin front of the Pelicans’ bench.
Harkless’ trey put Orlando ahead 53-33 just before halftime.
But Oladipo provided the highlight of the night with 2:43 left in the third.
One of the Pelicans’ centers, 6-foot-11 Greg Stiemsma, went up for a dunk underneath the hoop. Oladipo blocked it. The wildly athletic play prompted some of the generously announced crowd of 18,846 to begin chanting “O-la-DEE-poe! O-la-DEEpoe! O-la-DEE-poe!”
The Magic had given their fans something to celebrate other than the team’s 25th anniversary. . broke down and betrayed him. The Magic prospered, turning the league’s worst record into No. 1 pick Dwight Howard and a new beginning.
McGrady never uttered Weisbrod’s name Friday, although he wanted to make it clear that the organization “understands now what took place” in the Weisbrod showdown. He said “an individual ruined” the bluepinstriped dream he had had since growing up in Auburndale, adding that he would have never left Orlando otherwise.
The club recognized T-Mac between the first and second quarters of the game against the NewOrleans Pelicans. Hewas brought out to halfcourt and presented with a colorful painting of his likeness, flanked by Chairman Dan DeVos and CEOAlex Martins.
“It feels good to be celebrated,” McGrady said.
No boos or discouraging words were heard. T-Mac received a nice ovation, although not all the fans stood because not all the fans were there. Too many empty seats for a home opener in a one-sport town.
Just another offshoot of not having any stars.