National Basketball Association
Orlando 104, Minnesota 101
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Where: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Officials: #11 Derrick Collins, #13 Monty McCutchen, #44 Eli Roe
Attendance: 16048

ORLANDO -- The night started with the French National Anthem and a moment of silence at Amway Arena to honor those killed in the terrorist attack last week in Paris. The night ended with the Frenchman standing taller than everyone else on the court.

Forward Evan Fournier, who was born and raised in France and also played for the national team, hit the game-winning shot with 3.1 seconds remaining in overtime, leading his Orlando Magic to a 104-101 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves Wednesday night.

Fournier finished with a team-high 26 points, including six in overtime, along with three steals and four rebounds. Point guard Elfrid Payton added 24 points, including five in the overtime period.

Fournier, who was visibly upset when he first discussed the carnage last week, also had been slowed by flu/cold symptoms.

"This meant a lot tonight," he said. "It's been a difficult past few days. It hasn't been easy to get through everything."

Fournier hit his 3-point while guard by Timberwolves veteran Tayshaun Prince, one of the league's better defenders. It was his fifth 3-pointer of the evening. He hit another for the 98-97 lead with1:09 remaining.

"I've always known he was one of our strongest, toughest guys (mentally)," teammate Tobias Harris said. "We can always count on him. He hits the shots and makes the plays when it counts."

Guard Andrew Wiggins had 28 points and hit 12 of 14 free throws to lead the Timberwolves. Rookie Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 12 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season. Guards Zach LaVine and Kevin Martin added 14 and 12 points respectively.

The Magic were awful in the first half when they trailed by 14 points at intermission. They were much tougher defensively in the second half and overtime, which included Fournier's heroics.

Harris had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Magic. Little-used forward Andrew Nicholson, who had played only seven minutes this season before Wednesday, scored all eight of his points in the fourth quarter to key the Magic comeback.

Payton finished a 3-point play with 48 seconds remaining for the 101-99 lead. Towns tied the game with a pair of free throws. Then came Fournier again.

"Fournier made two tough shots at the end," Wolves coach Sam Mitchell said. "This is the NBA. Guys make tough shots. It was a tough loss for us."

Towns sent the game into overtime when he blocked a two-foot jumper by Harris as time expired in regulation. Wiggins hit a running layup with two seconds remaining that tied the game after the Magic had led through much of the fourth quarter.

"We thought we did everything we needed to do to come out with a W tonight," Towns said. "But he sent up a prayer and it was answered. He made tough shots. This hurts. It hurts to lose a game like this."

The Magic made a 7-0 run early in the fourth period that included back-to-back baskets from Payton for an 83-81 lead. Nicholson hit his second 3-pointer of the period to extend the Magic lead to 89-82 with 4:10 remaining.

After a woeful start and desperate for a spark, the Magic started a different lineup in the second half, adding Channing Frye and Dewayne Dedmon in place of center Nikola Vucevic and guard Victor Oladipo.

The Magic made a 15-0 run midway in the third period, helping turn the 14-point halftime deficit into a 71-68 lead. Fournier had 11 points in the period while the Wolves committed seven turnovers.

Towns had 13 points and seven rebounds by halftime, leading the Timberwolves to a 52-38 advantage. The Magic shot poorly in the first two periods, making just 17 of 53 shots (32.1 percent).

NOTES: Timberwolves F Kevin Garnett sat out his second game of the season Wednesday night and was replaced in the starting lineup by Adrien Payne, who was scoreless in 16 minutes. Garnett, 39, played 14 minutes Tuesday in Miami. The team's plan is to hold him out when the Wolves play on back-to-back nights, hoping to preserve him for later this season. ... Magic G Victor Oladipo returned to the lineup after missing the previous two games under the NBA's concussion protocol. He was hit in the head by teammate Dewayne Dedmon last week. ... Magic reserve C Jason Smith, who missed the previous four games with a sore left knee, also returned and played 26 minutes. ... Orlando F Evan Fournier, who battled cold and flu symptoms the past few days, was asked how he would defend Wolves leading scorer Andrew Wiggins. "I'll cough on him," Fournier said. ... The Wolves are 0-5 at home, but they won five of seven road games.
Top Game Performances
 
Minnesota   Orlando
Andrew Wiggins 28 Scoring Evan Fournier 26
Ricky Rubio 12 Assists Elfrid Payton 6
Ricky Rubio 12 Rebounds Tobias Harris 10
Andrew Wiggins 12 Free Throws Made Evan Fournier 3
Gorgui Dieng 2 Steals Elfrid Payton 4
Karl-Anthony Towns 6 Blocks Aaron Gordon 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Minnesota 101 42.4 4-18 25-30 21 57 13 4 16
Orlando 104 37.3 9-21 13-21 20 54 4 10 9
Upcoming Games
  • Orlando will play their next game at home against Sacramento. The Magic have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .667 after a loss.
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against Detroit. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .333 after a loss.