Lance Stephenson Propels Clips Past Magic

By on February 6, 2016

 Elfrid Payton (4) defends against the drive from Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) during the first quarter. (photo Reinhold Matay / USA TODAY Sports)

Elfrid Payton (4) defends against the drive from Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) during the first quarter. (photo Reinhold Matay / USA TODAY Sports)

The Orlando Magic took another home loss on Friday, this time at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers. Clipper guards Chris Paul, J.J. Redick, and Jamal Crawford each scored 20 points, more than any player on the Magic. This one was out of hand from the start, as Redick hit a three on the opening possession and the lead never changed hands.

Orlando came into the game riding one of their best offensive performances of the season, a narrow road loss against the Thunder on Wednesday. Fate would swing the other way on Friday, as the Magic struggled to hit the open shots they were given. “I thought we had good looks, we just didn’t make them,” said Magic coach Scott Skiles, “we made shots in Oklahoma City, [that] was the reason we hung in the game.” Orlando was 5-of-17 to start the game, and shot 25 percent in the first quarter.

The largest Clipper lead was 16, but the Magic pulled to within two points late in the third quarter. “Cause I took the break there in the third,” calmly said Clippers’ All-Star point guard Chris Paul, “so I was ready for the whole fourth.” Los Angeles would go on a 14-to-4 run midway through the fourth and close the door on any hopes of a Magic comeback.

A large part of the Clippers’ fourth quarter rally came from forward Lance Stephenson, who came off the bench. Stephenson hit all five of his shots for 11 points in the quarter, playing out of position at the power forward. A confident Stephenson stated “I feel like nobody can guard me in this league.” The former Pacer said he felt his confidence spike when he hit a buzzer-beating shot to end the third quarter.

For the Magic, this loss is another step down the path of regression – marking their 15th in their last 17 games. “We’ve got to get back to realizing what wins games,” said Magic shooting guard Victor Oladipo. The Magic (21-28) have dropped from a half game out of second place in December to 12th place in the conference as of February 5th. The lack of both execution on offense and effort on defense has been blamed for the Magic’s struggles of late.

Elfrid Payton and Nikola Vucevic both struggled to find their shots in the loss. Normally the most consistent part of the Magic offense, the Tandem combined to go 8-of-23 from the floor on Friday. The night was exceptionally rough for Payton, who went 2-of-7 for six points with as many turnovers as assists (3). He also committed four fouls and hit only half of his free throws.

The Magic stay at home this Sunday as the take on the Atlanta Hawks at 1 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday. Orlando is 0-2 on the season against Atlanta, and will look for at least a split with the 3rd place Hawks, as they travel to Atlanta on Monday for a one-team back-to-back.

1 2 3 4 T
LAC 28 27 22 30 107
ORL 20 24 29 20 93
Los Angeles Clippers
STARTERS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, PF 16 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 4 4 0 0 0 1 0 +6 0
Paul Pierce, SF 20 4-6 2-4 2-2 0 3 3 1 1 0 0 2 +14 12
DeAndre Jordan, C 37 4-7 0-0 4-6 4 14 18 1 1 3 3 1 +16 12
Chris Paul, PG 36 8-15 1-4 4-5 0 4 4 6 4 0 6 3 +25 21
J.J. Redick, SG 27 6-14 4-9 4-5 0 3 3 0 1 0 1 2 +9 20
BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
Lance Stephenson, SF 19 6-6 0-0 1-1 0 1 1 3 1 0 1 3 +6 13
Wesley Johnson, SF 27 2-6 1-5 0-0 0 5 5 0 1 4 1 1 0 5
Jeff Ayres, F 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 -2 0
Cole Aldrich, C 8 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 0 1 0 2 5 -2 2
Pablo Prigioni, PG 11 1-2 0-1 0-0 2 1 3 2 0 0 2 1 -11 2
C.J. Wilcox, SG 2 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jamal Crawford, SG 35 8-14 0-4 4-4 0 1 1 2 3 1 4 4 +9 20
Austin Rivers, PG DNP LEFT HAND
TOTALS FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
40-74 8-27 19-23 6 38 44 15 13 8 22 23 107
54.1% 29.6% 82.6%
Fast break points:   14
Points in the paint:   32
Total Team Turnovers (Points off turnovers):   22 (30)
+/- denotes team’s net points while the player is on the court.

Orlando Magic

STARTERS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
Aaron Gordon, PF 29 3-6 0-1 0-1 2 1 3 1 1 1 0 0 -11 6
Tobias Harris, SF 28 4-9 0-2 5-5 2 6 8 0 0 0 1 1 -2 13
Nikola Vucevic, C 29 6-16 0-1 1-2 3 6 9 4 2 0 4 3 -13 13
Elfrid Payton, PG 30 2-7 0-1 2-4 0 1 1 3 0 0 3 4 -11 6
Victor Oladipo, SG 36 5-12 1-4 7-8 1 2 3 3 1 0 4 5 -18 18
BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
Jason Smith, PF 17 4-7 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 1 1 0 3 0 +1 8
Andrew Nicholson, PF 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dewayne Dedmon, C 2 0-0 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Shabazz Napier, PG 10 1-4 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 4 0 0 1 1 -1 2
Keith Appling, PG 2 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Mario Hezonja, SG 22 3-6 1-3 2-2 1 4 5 0 0 0 0 2 -5 9
Evan Fournier, SG 32 6-13 2-5 2-4 1 5 6 3 1 0 2 3 -10 16
Channing Frye, PF DNP COACH’S DECISION
TOTALS FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
34-81 4-20 21-28 11 28 39 19 6 1 18 20 93
42.0% 20.0% 75.0%
Fast break points:   6
Points in the paint:   32
Total Team Turnovers (Points off turnovers):   18 (20)
+/- denotes team’s net points while the player is on the court.

 Flagrant Fouls: None
 Technical Fouls: PLAYERS:None -TEAMS: ORLANDO (1) -COACHES:None
 Officials: Mark Ayotte, Eric Lewis, Ben Taylor
 Attendance: 16,647
 Time of Game: 2:11

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