Vucevic leads Magic comeback for 117-110 OT win over Hawks

And in the two previous meetings against the Magic – both Atlanta victories – Millsap had battered the Magic for 13 points, 12.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals.

The Magic have lost 11 of their last 12 games. He also had six assists. The Magic looked like they were going to end the half on a high note after an Oladipo 3 got the lead to 9 again, but Millsap came right back with a 3-point play, plus a foul on Dedmon in one of those perimeter situtions. It was a good sign. Still, the Magic wouldn’t go away, and after a few empty offensive trips, Orlando had the ball with 21.8 seconds remaining and only a two-point Hawks lead on the scoreboard at 100-98.

Jeff Teague scored 24 for the Hawks, who had won three straight. The Atlanta Hawks are averaging 102.2 points on 46.1 percent shooting and allowing 99.6 points on 43.9 percent shooting. “… We’ve had this problem all year where we get up and we give up leads. It’s hard to take”.

With 11 seconds left, Hezonja’s pass was deflected and claimed by the Hawks with 1.2 ticks remaining. Millsap’s potential game-winning jumper on an inbounds play came after time had expired.

Atlanta Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer reacts in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic Monday, Feb. 8, 2016, in Atlanta. Like Atlanta’s reserves, Orlando’s bench took 18 shots, but they made one more for a grand total of four made field goals. “It was a tough loss”.

“Our defense picked back up and it carried over to our offense”, Payton said. The teams continued to trade blows, with neither able to put together a run to reassert control.

His absence forced the Magic to employ a starting lineup of Elfrid Payton at the point, Oladipo at shooting guard, Evan Fournier at Harris’ post at small forward, Aaron Gordon at power forward and Nikola Vucevic at center.

Down by 14 in the first quarter at Orlando, the Hawks were up 28-8 after eight minutes a day later after making 10 of their first 16 shots, including all three attempts from behind the 3-point arc. “We just kept pushing the pace of the game, playing fast”, center Al Horford told reporters after Friday’s win. “Obviously, I can play through some type of discomfort, but it’s just not feeling right”.

Kent Bazemore and Paul Millsap each finished with 13 rebounds. Shabbaz Napier and rookie Mario Hezonja added 14 each for the Magic.

Now holding the third-best record in the Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Hawks have had a solid season thus far.

Former Knicks forward Danilo Gallinari and Will Barton each had 19 points to lead the Nuggets, who won for the third time in four games.

“Paul Millsap is a very fun cover because he does a lot of different things, ” Gordon said. F Tobias Harris (sprained left ankle) missed his second straight game….

Orlando was led in scoring by Nikola Vucevic’s 28. Although the Magic have not been their best recently, they could use their home court advantage to grab the back-to-back wins; evening their season series against Atlanta.