The Osceola Magic needed a furious fourth-quarter comeback Friday to defeat the Memphis Hustle, 125-116 Friday night to sweep their first two NBA G League games at the Silver Spurs Arena this week.
Osceola (2-2) outscored the visitors 44-16 in the fourth quarter, as Mac McClung (game-high 44 points, tied a career high) and Trevelin Queen (23) took turns taking the ending over.
"That's fun to be a part of, you see a team's strength," McClung said. "Ours is mental, we have a bunch of dawgs, and the crowd was a real energy boost."
Queen, who scored 10 points in a 90 second stretch of the fourth quarter, said making plays at the end would, "Make sure these guys are cooking."
Coach Dylan Murphy said the key to the comeback was defense.
"When you don't see your shots falling, it affects the defense," he said, talking about the Magic's slow start to the second half. "Then you see the ball go in, and everything changes. Credit to our team that we're never out of any game, when you feel like you're never out it breeds confidence. They showed the will to win at both ends of the floor. Credit to our guys, even when (Memphis) hit a couple shots to take the lead after we took it back."
Early on, it looked like the Magic wouldn't overcome the hot-shooting Hustle in the first half. Memphis took leads of 38-36 after one quarter and 75-64 at the half thanks to its outside shooting; the Hustle was 15-of-27 beyond the arc in the first half, led by GG Jackson (4-of-6, 21 points at halftime, 26 in the game).
Ideas of narrowing the gap coming out of halftime went away quickly when the Magic missed their first seven shots -- Daeqwon Plowden's three-pointer five minutes in were their first points of the half -- and the Hustle opened on 10-0 run and 23-8 runs to take a lead as many as 26, 98-72, midway through the third.
Then McClung and Queen taught the crowd something -- no lead is safe in the NBA G League
But McClung scored seven in the final 79 seconds of the quarter for a 9-2 run that narrowed the gap to 100-81 entering the fourth quarter. Into the fourth quarter, he was the spark of a 28-7 run. When Alex Morales hit a corner 3-ball with 5:02 left, the Magic led, 109-107 and had the crowd on its feet.
Memphis answered with a 7-2 run, and took the lead -- its last -- 114-111 with 2:49 left; plenty of time for Queen to go royal. On Osceola's next three possessions, in between forcing Memphis misses, Queen hit a lay-up and was fouled, put back a McClung miss, and popped a three-pointer, the last giving the Magic a 119-114 lead with 1:21 left. He and McClung salted away the win by going 4-for-4 from the line in the final minute.
The Magic next play on Wednesday at the Rio Grande Valley (Tex.), the first of four road games ahead of their next home game at the Silver Spurs on Nov. 30 against Memphis.
From Thursday:
The Osceola Magic opened their 2023-24 home season by building a big lead and then held on for a 136-129 win over the Texas Legends.
The Orlando Magic's affiliate in the NBA-G League, Osceola is playing its first season at Silver Spurs Arena after playing its previous five years in Lakeland. The Legends are an affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks.
"It was good to finally play at home and the crowd definitely was a factor. We felt that home field advantage for the other side in our first two games," Coach Dylan Murphy said. "It seems all night long when we needed a basket, the crowd started making noise and our players started feeding off the energy they were providing."
It was a huge difference from the opening two games, where the Magic dropped a 108-97 decision to Mexico City on Nov. 10 and lost their second game two nights later to the Austin Spurs, 136-116.
The game was the first of a home back-to-back for the Magic, who will host the Memphis Hustle Friday night at the Silver Spurs. The Hustle are an affiliate of the Memphis Grizzlies. Tickets start at $15 and it is Military Appreciation Night. The first 1000 fans receive as Osceola Magic Camo hat.
The Magic opened a 14-4 lead at the start of the game and then quickly built the lead to 20. By halftime, they had a 74-51 advantage while shooting an impressive 53.7% from the field.
Osceola had four players in double figures at intermission, including 19 points by Brandon Williams and 15 from Mac McClung. Osceola would maintain its big lead in the third period as McClung scored 16 in the quarter, including a four-point play in the final minute as Osceola took a 105-83 advantage.
Texas would close to the gap in the fourth. They opened the period on an 18-10 run to cut the lead to 115-101. Justin Jackson would then hit a three-pointer for Texas to cut the lead to 10 at 5:24 mark, 118-109.
Two driving layups by McClung book-ended a Jackson basket to push the Osceola lead back to 13.
"I was aware of what was happening in the game but I wasn't trying to force anything or take anything over," McClung said, "The lanes were open all night and I just tried to take advantage of it." After McClung's layups, a steal followed by a Trevelin Queen dunk brought the lead back to 15.
Texas had a final push in them, A 10-2 run cut the lead to 127-122 before a Williams three-ball from the corner pushed the lead back to eight. Williams would then hit two free throws to extend the lead to 10 as Osceola held on for the win.
McClung finished the game with 35 points; Williams added 28 and Queen chipped in 21. Jackson had 33 for Texas; AJ Lawson contributed 27.
"It's important to remember this team has been on the floor for only three games and practicing for just a couple of weeks," Murphy added. "Tonight was the first time I thought we started playing with some rhythm and as a team."
NOTES: The NBA G-League is using an experimental free throw rule this season to speed up the game, where a single free throw is worth 1, 2 or 3 points depending on the situation. If a player is fouled in the act of shooting and the basket is no good, the player is awarded one free throw that is worth two points. If he is fouled in the act of shooting from beyond the 3-point line and the basket does not go in, one subsequent free throw is worth three points. Technical fouls or foul shots if the basket is good is worth one point. Regular free throw rules are in effect for the final two minutes of a game.
Both McClung and Queen said after the game they weren't particularly big fans of the rule. "I don't really like it because its not like real basketball," Williams said. "You should have the pressure on you to make free throws." McClung agreed but noted, "Not sure what the reason is for it, but it's a rule in our league and as a professional you have to adjust to the rules."
The first 1,000 fans attending Thursday's home opener received an Osceola Magic souvenir jersey compliments of team sponsor Advent Health.
