National Basketball Association
Orlando 118, Brooklyn 111
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, December 16, 2016
Where: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Officials: #36 Brent Barnaky, #34 Kevin Cutler, #8 Marc Davis
Attendance: 17668

ORLANDO, Fla. -- After struggling for much of the night, Orlando Magic guard Evan Fournier suddenly elevated his game down the stretch.

That's what the good players are supposed to do.

Fournier scored 21 points, including 11 in the final 2:26, sparking the Magic to a 118-111 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night at Amway Arena.

Fournier hit a pair of free throws for a 108-106 lead they never lost, then poured in another nine points, allowing the Magic (12-16) to snap a six-game home losing streak.

The Nets (7-18) lost their eighth consecutive game on the road, where they haven't won since Nov. 12.

"Evan has done that before, nights where he hasn't been shooting well, but still has the confidence to make the big shots at the end," Magic coach Frank Vogel said. "He's a big reason why we got the victory tonight."

Magic reserve center Nikola Vucevic, returning from a three-game absence, also had 21 points and 10 rebounds in a reserve role. Serge Ibaka contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds. They combined for just one point in the fourth quarter when Fournier took charge.

Fournier scored 13 points in the fourth quarter when the lead changed hands or was tied 10 times. He hit a 3-pointer for the 113-108 lead with 1:36 remaining.

Going into the fourth, Fournier had made just three of 12 shots and looked badly out of sync.

"You can't get frustrated in this game. I was missing shots early, make bad plays, just wasn't doing the job," he said. "But you stay aggressive. You don't lose your confidence. You know it's going to change."

The Nets were led by center Brook Lopez with 22 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots. He fouled out with 20 seconds remaining.

Jeremy Lin, coming back from his hamstring injury, had 17 points for Brooklyn. Bojan Bogdanovic hit three 3-pointers and finished with 15 points. Sean Kilpatrick had 13 points and Luis Scola added 11 points that included three 3-pointers.

D.J. Augustine had 17 points for the Magic, which took a 106-104 lead when he scored five consecutive points. Aaron Gordon chipped in 13 points. Reserve Elfrid Payton had 10 points and five assists.

"I thought our defense was solid most of the game, but Fournier hit that three (at the end), which hurt us," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. "Augustin hit big shots, too. They made some big shots."

The Nets were hurt by 17 turnovers that turned into 18 points. The Magic had only seven turnovers, overcoming poor shooting (40.2 percent) most of the night. The Magic made only seven of 29 3-pointers, but Fournier made three of seven.

"It was one of those games. We didn't finish well at the basket, and didn't finish well on the perimeter," Vogel said. "But our competitive spirit carried us through."

Payton started the fourth quarter by scoring back-to-back baskets, providing a spark in reserve. The Nets countered with two 3-pointers from Scola. The Nets led 95-94 midway in the quarter after a 3-pointer by rookie Caris LeVert.

The Magic led 83-82 going into the fourth quarter after trailing by as many as nine points early in the third. The Nets started the second half strong when Lopez scored eight points, but they faded as the quarter progressed.

Both Vucevic and Payton were called for technical fouls in the third quarter, giving Lopez two easy points.

The Magic led 53-52 at intermission when Fournier hit a layup with 17 seconds remaining. It was the Magic's only lead of the second quarter. The Nets led by as many as eight points in the quarter.

The Nets had a 10-0 run -- including five straight from reserve Anthony Bennett -- late in the first quarter to take a 24-19 lead, which they held until Fournier scored just before halftime.

Vucevic had 13 points and six rebounds in 13 first-half minutes. Lopez had 10 points in the first two quarters.

Lin, who is returning from a left hamstring strain, had six points and two assists as a reserve in the first half.

NOTES: Magic C Nikola Vucevic returned to action after missing the three previous games with a bruised lower back. The Magic won one of three games without him. ... Brooklyn's journeyman F Trevor Booker, who leads the team in rebounding (9.1), is having a breakout season with the Nets, impressing everyone with both his versatility and physicality. "He's our (linebacker) Lawrence Taylor," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. ... Brooklyn C Brook Lopez, now in his ninth season with the Nets, is the longest-tenured player in team history. The only other player to last eight full seasons was Buck Williams. ... Brooklyn PG Jeremy Lin, who missed 17 games earlier with a hamstring injury, played one game and then sat out Wednesday, returned again to action Friday night. ... The Magic went into the night with a six-game home losing streak, including four against teams that had losing records when they played. ... The Magic honored colorful TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager, who died earlier this week, prior to Friday's game. Each player wore a "Sager Strong," shirt during pregame warm-ups.
Top Game Performances
 
Brooklyn   Orlando
Brook Lopez 22 Scoring Evan Fournier 21
Isaiah Whitehead 8 Assists Elfrid Payton 5
Trevor Booker 9 Rebounds Serge Ibaka 11
Brook Lopez 4 Free Throws Made Evan Fournier 8
Bojan Bogdanovic 1 Steals Jodie Meeks 4
Brook Lopez 5 Blocks Serge Ibaka 5
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Brooklyn 111 47.0 11-27 22-26 21 45 6 5 17
Orlando 118 40.2 7-29 33-42 22 49 11 8 7
Upcoming Games
  • Orlando will play their next game at home against Toronto. The Magic have a W/L % of .417 after a win and .438 after a loss.
  • Brooklyn will play their next game on the road against Philadelphia. The Nets have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .389 after a loss.