Vucevic sinks depleted Raptors as Magic put on show
Kawhi Leonard scores 21 as Toronto shoots 29.5 per cent from field
The Orlando Magic have had a forgettable December — until Friday night.
Nikola Vucevic had 30 points and 20 rebounds and the Magic snapped a four-game losing streak with a 116-87 rout of the Toronto Raptors.
D.J. Augustin had 17 points and six assists for Orlando, which had five players in double figures and a 60-41 rebounding advantage.
Vucevic became the third player this decade, fifth this century and ninth in the last 44 years to post at least 30 points, 20 rebounds and eight assists in a game, the Magic said. Charles Barkley (three times), DeMarcus Cousins (twice), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, George McGinnis, David Lee, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki and Alex English are the other players to accomplish the feat since 1974.
Watch Vucevic lead Magic past Raptors
"I think guys understood that it was time for us to turn things around," Vucevic said. "Tonight everything clicked for us on both ends, but defence is probably the main reason we won."
After making eight of their first 12 shots, including a couple of 3-pointers by Fred VanVleet, the Raptors took a 19-9 lead. But Toronto made just 11 of its next 51 shots until Kawhi Leonard dunked late in the third quarter with Orlando leading 91-60.
'A big boy's league'
"This is a big boy's league and these nights happen, it's nothing new," VanVleet said. "We are not the first team to lose like this."
The Magic, who had lost five straight to Toronto, outscored the Raptors 51-16 over a 16-minute span of the middle periods and led by as many as 31 points late in the third quarter.
Leonard scored 21 points for the Raptors, who shot 29.5 per cent in the final game of a three-game trip. Serge Ibaka added 17 points and eight rebounds.
The Raptors (26-11) came into the game with the best record in the Eastern Conference, but fell percentage points behind Milwaukee with the loss.
"It's the reality of this league — every team in our league will have a win like that," Orlando coach Steve Clifford said. "We were good tonight. I thought we were more physical. I thought Vucevic was terrific and Aaron Gordon was lights-out. He only took six shots."
Gordon got most of the credit for holding Leonard to 11 points after the first 10 minutes. Leonard had averaged 30.1 points in the 10 preceding games.
"We were all tied together on defence, all in the right spots, and we executed the game plan. That was probably the best we've done it all year," said Gordon, who had nine points and nine rebounds.
Vucevic scored 12 points during a 21-6 run late in the first half that turned the game around.
D.J. Augustin scored six straight points to stretch Orlando's lead to 17 with 8:15 left in the third quarter, and the Raptors never threatened after that.
"We never really could get stops," Toronto coach Nick Nurse said. "We couldn't finish at the rim very well. It was really a poor night for all of us. We were trying to shut the water off and we couldn't."