Next week features 4 games at the Silver Spurs
If at first you don’t succeed … turn to Trevelin Queen.
The two-way Magic player who has seen big minutes with the Orlando NBA club, took his G-League Osceola squad under his wings and dropped 30 points on 10-of-17 shooting to lead the Magic over the Cleveland Charge, 120-104, Wednesday night at Osceola Heritage Park.
His night was helped by a monster first half, dropping 23 points, as Osceola score 39 points in the first quarter and pushed to a first-half lead it would never give up.
“For me, it’s keeping the game simple,” Queen said. “A lot of people get nervous I guess when they guard me, so I can see the [anxiousness] in people. For me it’s just staying calm and staying ready and doing the small things for my team, which is being open or making the right read. Once I give everybody else confidence, that opens up the door for myself.”
Guard Mac McClung added 22 points and 12 assists for his second double-double of the season.
“We got a lot of people that can score, so [Head Coach Dylan Murphy] was like, ‘For the NBA we want to see if you play-make,’ and I was like, ‘Say less, I’ll do it,’” McClung said. “It’s easy when you got guys like we got to make plays, and they can make shots, tough or easy, so they help me out a lot.”
Osceola got it done on defense Wednesday night, forcing 15 turnovers. The Charge shot just 42.5% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc and were held under their season offensive average, scoring more than 25 points in one quarter.
The Magic improve to 6-4, as the records reset following the G League Winter Showcase, and are just a half-game out of first place in the league’s Eastern Conference.
The win earned a split with the Charge, as the visitors won, 118-106 in Kissimmee Monday. Despite a fiercely contested first half that saw 13 lead changes, Osceola was unable to reclaim the lead in the second half as Cleveland pulled away.
McClung and D.J. Wilson combined for 52 points for Osceola.
The Magic can climb into a tie for the lead in the East Saturday when they face the Capital City Go-Go, on Saturday at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C.
Osceola’s fairly-loaded roster, which includes two-way players Queen, Kevon Harris (who dropped 18 points Wednesday), the rookie Jett Howard, who scored 18 points Monday and 16 Wednesday getting extended G League minutes, as well as the high-flying and distributing McClung, will be back at the Silver Spurs Arena next week for four games.
“It’s tough with the roster shaking up a lot,” Howard said. “It happens so quickly in the G League, so it makes it tough to adjust.”
Osceola is at home Monday against the Wisconsin Herd (Milwaukee Bucks G-Leaguers), Wednesday against the Delaware Blue Coats (Philadelphia 76ers), Ontario Clippers (L.A.) and a Sunday Feb. 4 3 p.m. against the Maine Celtics (Boston).
