NBA Game Recap - Dallas at Orlando
Fri Mar 8, 2019 7:00 PM EST

WAS
111
CHA
112
F
DAL
106
ORL
111
F
UTA
104
MEM
114
F
CLE
110
MIA
126
F
PHI
91
HOU
107
F
DET
112
CHI
104
F
TOR
127
NO
104
F
OKC
110
LAC
118
F
DEN
105
GS
122
F

Orlando 111, Dallas 106

Mar 8, 2019, 7:00 PM EST

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Dallas

19

28

26

33

106

Orlando

29

33

30

19

111

Ross, Vucevic lead Magic over Mavericks 111-106
Fri Mar 8, 2019 10:46 PM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Steve Clifford and the Magic were far from satisfied after a victory over the struggling Dallas Mavericks.

"If they shoot the ball the way they normally do, we lose this game," the Orlando coach said after the 111-106 victory Friday night. "We got outplayed. They just didn't shoot the ball as well as we did."

Terrence Ross scored 22 points and Nikola Vucevic had 20 points and 13 rebounds, leading the Magic to their 11th win in 16 games and keeping them right on the edge of an Eastern Conference playoff berth. They have not qualified for the playoffs since 2012.

"We just played sloppy, defensively, offensively, (no) taking care of the ball," said Aaron Gordon, who scored 18 points and blocked three shots. "We just weren't locked in. He (Clifford) expects more from us and we expect more from ourselves."

Orlando shot .483 percent overall, compared to Dallas' .472. But the big difference was in 3-point shooting as the Magic shot .483 to the Mavericks' .294.

"We won tonight, but it wasn't a good enough performance," Evan Fournier said. "It wasn't satisfying. It doesn't feel like a great win. We have to play better."

Luka Doncic had 24 points and eight rebounds for Dallas, which has lost four straight and nine of 10. Jalen Brunson added 18 points and nine assists.

Dirk Nowitzki scored nine points in the fourth quarter and finished with 15, matching his season high in his 21st and final NBA season.

The Magic took a 19-point into the fourth quarter before Nowitzki and Doncic led a late charge to get the Mavericks back in the game in the final two minutes.

"When you get down 19 at any point in an NBA game, the odds of coming back and winning are very difficult, especially on the road," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "You've either got to play close or play from the front. We had a poor start. Second half we did better, but we've got to stay in the fight."

Ross made four 3-pointers in the first half and the Magic made eight of 15, taking an 18-point lead on a three-point play by Gordon in the final seconds of the half.

Doncic scored three baskets on the Mavericks' 16-7 run to start the second half, reducing Orlando's lead to six. But Jonathan Isaac, Vucevic and Ross answered with 3-pointers in a span of 52 seconds and the Magic's lead was back up to 19 by the end of the third quarter.

TIP-INS

Mavericks: Nowitzki got a standing ovation when he entered the game with 2:09 left in the first quarter. It was the 1,505th regular-season game of his career. ... Dallas has given up 101 or more points in 12 straight games, an average of 116.4 per game. ... The Mavericks beat the Magic by 25 points on Dec. 10.

Magic: An MRI revealed that G Isaiah Briscoe has a torn right meniscus. Briscoe will see a doctor before deciding whether to have surgery. "I'll have to evaluate the long-term possibilities," he said. ... Friday night's game was the first of seven straight against losing teams. ... The crowd of 19,196 was the ninth-largest in franchise history.

UP NEXT

Mavericks: Host Houston on Sunday night.

Magic: At Memphis on Sunday night.

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More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

Leaders

Dallas PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
L. Doncic 24 -5 5 8 1 0
J. Brunson 18 -1 9 2 0 0
Orlando PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
T. Ross 22 2 2 3 1 0
N. Vucevic 20 0 6 13 2 1

Team Comparison

DAL ORL
Points For 106 111
Field Goals 42/89-47% 42/87-48%
Three Pointers 10/34-29% 14/29-48%
Free Throws 12/16-75% 13/18-72%
Offensive Rebounds 10 11
Defensive Rebounds 32 37
Rebounds 48 53
Blocks 3 5
Steals 6 9
Turnovers 14 14
Points Scored Off Turnovers 20 13
Points in the Paint 56 42
Fast Break Points 20 10
Personal Fouls 15 18
Technical Fouls 0 1
Flagrant Fouls 0 0
Ejections 0 0

2018-19 Reg Season - Series Tied 1-1

Date Result Away Pts Ldr Home Pts Ldr
Mon Dec 10 ORL 76 @ DAL 101 J. Simmons 18 H. Barnes 19
Fri Mar 8 DAL 106 @ ORL 111 L. Doncic 24 T. Ross 22

Game Information

Stadium: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 19,196
Game Time: 2:3