Lester Quinones scored 24 points and hit a big three-pointer with 1:18 left to give the Osceola Magic a lead it wouldn’t lose in a 137-133 win over the South Bay Lakers Monday at the Silver Spurs Arena in NBA G League action.
The win solidified first place in the Eastern Conference for the Magic (13-3) and stretched their win streak to five games. In turn they snapped the Lakers’ (9-7) four-game win streak. Osceola can stretch that win streak and lead in the East on Wednesday (Youth Sports Night) and Friday (Ranchers Night) at 7 p.m. against the Noblesville Boom.
The Monday tilt was an enjoyable one, as Osceola rallied from a 69-59 halftime deficit to tie the game headed to the fourth quarter. Neither team led in those final 12 minutes by more than three points until Osceola went on a 8-0 run over the last two minutes to salt away a win on a night when it was a bit undermanned. Reece Beekman was ruled out with a shoulder injury and center Colin Castleton remains on the mend with a hand injury.
Quinones and Alex Morales (team high 28 points) played much of the fourth quarter with five fouls.
"With this team, it's never one guy," Quinones said. "I had (three) shots in the first half, I could tell their game plan was to shut me down. This group, we don't get things like that get in our head."
The game started well enough for the Magic, who got out to 17-9 and 21-12 early leads. That’s when Kobe Bufkin, who hit his first six three-point shots, heated up on his way to a game-high 36 points. South Bay led 31-28 after one quarter and 69-59 at the half. The Lakers shot 52 percent (13-for-25) from three in that half, and the Magic committed 14 turnovers.
But in the third quarter, where the Magic shot 72 percent from the field (18-for-25) and scored 46 points. By then seven Osceola players were in double figures, and the home team chipped away at the lead and tied it at 105 heading to the fourth quarter.
Neither team led by more than three until there were 15 seconds left as the teams traded plays and buckets. Osceola led 125-124 with 4:03 left after a Quinones steal and outlet pass to Smart, but a pair of R.J. Davis buckets put South Bay back up, 131-129 with 2:23 left. After Jarrod Cumberland (16 points off the bench) hit a running lay up to tie it again, Davis missed a wide-open look at a three. Morales grabbed the rebound and headed upcourt, and after a couple passes Quinones got the ball all alone and coolly drained a corner 3 to put the Magic up for good, 134-131, with 1:18 left.
"I somehow had nobody within five feet around me, so I had a few seconds to shoot," Quinones said of his big shot. "Not sure what their game play was, but give me an uncontested shot and I feel like it's going in."
Coach Dylan Murphy said he expected nothing less in the fourth quarter from what's became a tough and mentally gritty team.
"It's a luxury having that. We're never out of the fight," he said after the win. "We've done a helluva job closing in the fourth quarter the last couple of weeks. If it's tight down the stretch, we feel like we're gonna win, and we executed at the end tonight.
