Nikola Vucevic (knee) will be available off the bench for Wednesday’s game against the Lakers, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports.
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Vucevic, a former USC star, received an inbound pass on the left wing from Tobias Harris with 1.5 seconds left, turned around and shot a jumper over Roy Hibbert to give the Magic the win.
Nik Vucevic didn’t start for the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers. The 7-foot center certainly finished.
Oladipo stayed down while his teammates went upcourt and missed a shot, but Oladipo stood up when the Lakers came back down the court. Lou Williams added 13 points, three assists, and three rebounds, and Larry Nance Jr. had 13 points on a flawless 6 of 6 shooting.
Kobe Bryant sat out for the second consecutive night due to a back injury, as Metta World Peace took his place in the starting unit once again.
Williams tried to put the Lakers ahead in the final seconds, but air-balled an off-balance jumper as the shot clock expired.
Regardless of which player mans the middle, the Lakers will have to make a concerted effort to keep Orlando’s frontline off the boards. “I love the way Larry plays”, Coach Byron Scott said.
The Magic said he would not return to the game. We could easily have won three of the four games on this road trip, but the way we played defensively, we could easily be 0-4. Of course, there’s no guarantee that the current incarnation of Bryant would have done better than Williams, who shot just 2-of-8 from the field overall (with 9-of-10 FT) for 13 points.
Rookie D’Angelo Russell was not too shabby either, putting in 14 points, six rebounds, and three assists, and the 19-year old even received the opportunity to close out tonight’s game. Skiles brought Vucevic off the bench – the first time Vucevic had been a reserve during his Magic tenure.
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Will the defense continue to show signs of improvement and hold the Magic below their season average of 101 points?
