National Basketball Association
Orlando 102, Utah 93
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, November 13, 2015
Where: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Officials: #76 Steven Anderson, #19 James Capers, #59 Gary Zielinski
Attendance: 16709

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Orlando Magic obviously have grown too accustomed to playing in close games this season.

Orlando has had six games decided by five points or less already this season and almost let another one go that way before closing out the Utah Jazz 102-93 on Friday night.

Orlando led by 23 points with just over seven minutes to go but let Utah climb back to 97-90 with 1:10 left in the game.

"We did a good job building up to it, but we definitely got to work on finishing games," said Magic point guard Elfrid Payton, who had three free throws, one steal and assist in the final minute to keep the Magic comfortably ahead.

Shooting guard Evan Fournier, who led the Magic with 21 points, said, "It shouldn't be that hard to sustain when you're playing well. We just have to find a way to make it last for 48 minutes."

Forward Tobias Harris added 19 points and 13 rebounds and center Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Magic.

Utah, playing its third game in four nights, was sluggish for most of the game. The Jazz trailed by 22 early in the second quarter and were down by double digits most of the game before making a last-ditch comeback in the fourth quarter.

Forward Gordon Hayward and guard Trey Burke led Utah with 16 points apiece. Guard Alec Burks was the only other Jazz player to score in double figures with 11.

"We were running on fumes," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "To be honest with you, to be down 20 in the first quarter and to come back and fight back and fight back -- the game could have easily got out of hand. The team showed a lot of pride."

Burke said, "With this back-to-back, we were a little tired, but that's not an excuse. If we had come out with more energy, more juice, we could have given ourselves a chance to win at the end."

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.

"We were really sharp," Magic coach Scott Skiles said. "We had nice screening angles, our spacing was good overall, we were pretty much on time and on target with our passing, just really pretty good stuff."

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."
Top Game Performances
 
Utah   Orlando
Trey Burke 16 Scoring Evan Fournier 21
Raul Neto 7 Assists Elfrid Payton 6
Trevor Booker 7 Rebounds Tobias Harris 13
Alec Burks 6 Free Throws Made Tobias Harris 8
Trevor Booker 4 Steals Tobias Harris 3
Jeff Withey 2 Blocks Aaron Gordon 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Utah 93 39.1 8-25 17-23 24 41 6 14 17
Orlando 102 42.1 10-27 28-31 20 45 11 11 22
Upcoming Games
  • Orlando will play their next game on the road against Washington. The Magic have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .600 after a loss.
  • Utah will play their next game on the road against Atlanta. The Jazz have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .500 after a loss.