Magic play three more home games next week at Silver Spurs Arena.
Git' some of this: Alex Morales puts up a shot over Raptors 905's Tyson Degenhart on his way to a double-double in Wednesday's 118-109 wire-to-wire victory. (Photo/Taylor McFee)
Here's what condition the Osceola Magic's condition's in:
This week: Three home games at the Silver Spurs Arena. Three NBA G League home wins to take the lead in the G League Eastern Conference.
Next week: The chance to do it all again.
Thursday night, the Magic (12-3 in regular season) finished the sweep that started Monday when the team came from 18 points down in the fourth quarter to rally for a 112-109 win over Toronto 905 (click for game story).
On Wednesday, Osceola led wire-to-wire in a 118-109 victory over the Raptors 905. Forward Alex Morales went for a double-double with a career-high with 30 points, including 11 in a hot first-quarter and 12 rebounds. Phillip Wheeler added 23 points off the Magic bench, and Lester Quiñones totaled 22 points. Reece Beekman added a 13-point, 10-assist performance for his second double-double of the season.
Then Thursday, on Dominican Heritage Night, The Magic overcame a sluggish first quarter and defeated the Westchester Knicks (5-11) 110-102. That game's hero was Javonte Smart, who scored a game-high 27 points off the bench on 10-of-15 shooting and 7-of-12 from three-point range. Morales chipped in another double-double (20 points, 12 rebounds) on a night Osceola started slow and trailed the Knicks 18-6 five minutes into the game.
The Magic cranked up the defensive pressure in the second quarter, held Westchester to 15 points and took a 62-54 halftime lead. The Magic had to fight their way out of a hole early in the fourth quarter, but Morales scored with just over nine minutes remaining in the game to give the Magic the lead for good. Jarron Cumberland knocked down a jumper and a three-pointer on successive possessions to up the lead to nine with 3:05 left to salt away another win.
“For us, we say, whoever’s turn it is, it's their turn. It’s going to be different guys every night," Osceola Coach Dylan Murphy said. "Jarron played great tonight and earned the right to close the game. He had two huge buckets with the three ball and the floater in the lane. He’s tough, physical and does his job every night whether or not he touches the ball. Just super proud of our group in how they play together and cheer each other on. It’s a real joy to coach them.”
It sets the stage for next week, with three more games at the Silver Spurs Arena against the South Bay Lakers on Monday Noblesville (Indiana, the Pacers' affiliate) Boom on Wednesday and Friday. All games tip off at 7 p.m. Monday is the team's Black History Month Celebration. The first 1,000 fans will receive a Black History Month-themed Osceola Magic hat.
If you did not get enough of this week's heroics and want a piece of the wins, the team is auctioning off game-issued Looney Tunes Night and Dominican Heritage Night through tonight (Jan. 30). Go to https://e.givesmart.com/events/NhW/ (Looney Tunes) and https://e.givesmart.com/events/Ni2/ (Dominican Heritage) for a chance to purchase the game-worn jerseys. Proceeds go to the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity and Casa de La Dominicanidad.
