Team begins restarted regular season with 115-107 victory
Javonte Smart (1) and Ethan Thompson (5) have that winning feeling Friday for the Osceola Magic -- must be those special Puerto Rican Heritage Night uniforms. Or maybe it was the 115-107 victory. PHOTO/TAYLOR MCFEE
Puerto Rico native Ethan Thompson scored a game-high 29 to lead the Osceola Magic to a 115-107 win over the College Park Skyhawks on Puerto Rican Heritage Night Friday at the Silver Spurs arena.
“In the third, the basket looked real big and my teammates were giving me good looks,” Thompson remarked.
Thompson was the foundation for the win, but Javonte Smart was the studs - scoring 9 of his 17 points in the final period. Robert Baker hit 2 free throws with 25.5 second left to give the Magic an insurmountable six-point lead to open the second half of the G League season.
The G League standings start over after the Showcase event last week in Orlando, giving the Magic a great team win to start the second half of the season.
“The beauty of the G League is to get that reset,” Osceola Magic coach Dylan Murphy said. “The guys executed for 48 minutes. Up and down, we fought through it. That a hell of a team over there.
“We stuck with it for 48 minutes. In the showcase when we played College Park, we felt we controlled the game for 44 minutes.”
The game was close throughout with 10 lead changes, and the fourth quarter was no different. Baker (21 points, 11 rebounds) opened the fourth period with two 3-pointers to put the Magic up 87-85. The teams played back and forth basketball the rest of the period. The game was tied at 96 with 5 minutes left in the game before Smart took over.
“I knew it was winning time,” Smart said. “We wanted to win. We all bought in on stopping them. I think we all stayed together and came out with the win.”
Thompson connected on 8-for-16 three-pointers, and added a solid defensive effort. In a game-changing third quarter, Thompson took over with a steal and 7 points (2 on 3-pointers) during a 7-0 Osceola spurt. Later in the quarter, Thompson blocked a shot and then hustled to the opposite corner for another 3-pointer to put the Magic up 73-65. College Park kept the game close with the Magic taking a one-point lead into the final quarter, 81-80.
“When Ethan Thompson takes 25 3s everyone is happy about it,” Murphy said. “Any time he is in rhythm we want him to rip that thing. When he is cooking like he was tonight everyone knows to find him.”
Early on the defensive intensity helped the Magic jump out to a 20-8 lead. Defensively, the Magic forced College Park into poor 3-point shots (8-for-23 in first half) allowing Osceola several fastbreaks ending with Mac McClung layups. But the Skyhawks feasted on the Magic’s second team for a 17-4 run to take a 27-26 lead at the end of the first period.
“Defense was something we focused on,” Thompson said. “Our team is super-talented, but we must play with energy on defense for the entire 48 minutes, rebound, and get back in transition, something we control that doesn’t take talent. “I try to do all the little things, try to be in the right place, communicate, always bring positive energy.”
The second quarter wasn’t any better offensively for the Magic, who went over 5 minutes scoring just one basket and had two shot clock violations. College Park had a 57-54 halftime lead. In the end the Magic overcame a rough start to win the game.
McClung had 17 points and, more importantly, 14 assists.
[Mac] is committed to playing in the NBA, which obviously means sharing the ball,” Murphy noted. “When he plays that way the ball is going to find him to attack. He is so talented points are going to find him accidently.”
Dominick Barlow and Keaton Wallace led College Park with 20 points apiece.
The Magic now become road warriors, with their next seven games away from the Silver Spurs starting with Sunday in Ontario, Canada against Toronto 905, a game you can watch on NBA TV at 2 p.m.
The next home game is Wednesday, Jan. 22 against Capital City.
NOTES: Osceola opened the regular-season portion of their NBA G League schedule Friday sporting (mostly) red, white and blue uniforms to celebrate Puerto Rican Heritage Night.
One member of the team who did not wear the special uniform Friday was Trevelin Queen, but he had a mighty fine reason, as he is on assignment with the Orlando Magic parent NBA club. Queen, on a two-way contract between Orlando and Osceola, made his first career NBA starts on Monday and Thursday. Monday he was part of a Magic comeback from 18 points down in the second half to beat the Boston Celtics, 108-104. His dribble penetration and pass out to Tristan da Silva led to da Silva’s three-pointer that put the game away with 9 seconds left.
On Thursday, Queen passed to Goga Bitadze, whose layup gave Orlando a one-point lead with 4 seconds left. But Tyler Herro hit a jumper with 0.5 seconds to steal the thunder and the win.
Queen came off the bench to score 9 points in 26 minutes Friday in Orlando’s 108-85 loss to the New York Knicks, while wearing the blue and white of Orlando.
“He’s worked super hard and been grinding to get there,” Osceola Coach Dylan Murphy said. “With everything he’s been through, to start an NBA game and have the trust of NBA coaches, when you have that opportunity, you have to seize it.
“That’s what makes me proud, seeing two-way guys like Trevelin and Daeqwan Plowden (who like Kevon Harris were members of Osceola last season and started Friday for College Park), those are the things you see that make you really happy, watch them go on with their careers.”
Could Ethan Thompson, who scored a game-high 29 points, be the next Trevelin Queen?
“He’s a big time player, and has a neon green light to attack,” Murphy said of Thompson.
But Thompson said attacking on defense, much like the Orlando Magic have become known for across the NBA, has been a team priority.
“Our focus in the Showcase part of the season (which ended prior to Friday) was to show effort on defense for the entire 48,” he said. “With Queen hoopin’ up in the NBA, you do what you’re called on to do; that’s what we put the work in for.” …
… Earlier in the week, the Magic traded forward Tre Scott to the Long Island Nets for 6-11 center Patrick Gardner, who averaged 7.9 points and six rebounds in 16.5 minutes.
Paired with guard Myron Gardner, that gives Osceola two gardeners, er, Gardners – yet neither is likely to tend to the UF-IFAS Extension Services horticulture center next door at Osceola Heritage Park.
The Gardners combined for 5 points and 11 rebounds (10 for Patrick) in 10 and 14 minutes Friday …
… Coach Murphy was away from the team last weekend during the G League Showcase at the Orange County Convention Center. He was busy receiving an early Christmas present as he was away for the birth of his daughter and first child.
“My wife has been a machine,” Murphy said. “It’s lack of sleep and having to stay up this late (is catching up).” …
… Stat line for Osceola point guard Mac McClung: 17 points, game-high 14 assists, and one technical foul, picked up in the second quarter.
