2 road games next week; 1st place Magic back at the Silver Spurs March 25
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Trevelin Queen put together a double-double Saturday as the Osceola Magic completed a two-game home sweep of the Long Island Nets and extended its NBA G League Eastern Conference lead. PHOTO/KATIE WILLIAMS
It's starting to look like the makings of a special season for the Osceola Magic, in their first year playing at the Silver Spurs Arena.
The team won three of four games at home this past week, including a two-game sweep of the Long Island Nets, to push its record to 19-9 and is now 1 1/2 games clear of the Delaware Blue Coast for the lead in the NBA G League's Eastern Conference.
Saturday, Trevelin Queen's triple-double (24 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists) and Mac McClung led all scorers with 34 points as Osceola topped the Nets, 125-117.
“We recognized the mismatches and who had it going,” Queen said. “Our game plan was to limit them in transition and offensive rebounding. The crowd had our backs tonight; it was loud. Keep it coming, Kissimmee is on the rise.”
McClung also dished out six assists -- the last on the exclamation point, as he passed to D.J. Wilson (23 points) who threw down a thunderous dunk to make it 125-110 with 1:24 left -- as he was a scorer and a distributor.
“Our team is really unselfish,” McClung said. “Our second unit came in for a shorter spurt but were still looking for me, and that meant a lot to me. I’m just trying to play the game. I know when there’s two guys guarding me I have a teammate open. My favorite highlights to produce are passing highlights.”
The Magic turned a close game (63-61 at the half) into a comfortable lead in the second half. Osceola outscored Long Island 35-23 in the third quarter; McClung had 16 in the quarter and Jett Howard (20 points) had 13 in the fourth to help put the game away.
The win came a night after bouncing back from a Wednesday loss to Toronto 905 with a 123-117 victory over Long Island, which 16-12 and in sixth place in the East, also in a playoff spot. McClung, who sat out Monday and Wednesday to rest and rehab a sore leg, scored 33 points and handed out nine assists on a night Queen didn't play.
“Coach just told me to go out there and have fun,” McClung said.
This one was a fun affair for the fans, as the teams traded the lead nine times. The Magic trailed 61-59 at halftime and were down six with 4:24 left in the quarter, but Osceola closed the third on a 21-8 run to take a 91-84 lead to the fourth. Despite the Nets opening the final quarter on a 10-0 run, the Magic answered with a 15-2 run of their own to take a lead they'd never relinquish, although it got excited at the end. Up just one in the final minute, McClung hit a floating bank shot with 19 seconds for a 120-117 lead, and then the defense force turnovers on the Nets' final two possessions.
The Magic, will face the Birmingham Squadron in Birmingham, Alabama, at the Legacy Arena on Tuesday and Wednesday at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The Tuesday game will be available on ESPN+, the team said.
