ORLANDO — E’Twaun Moore scored 13 points in replacement of injured point guard Jameer Nelson, but it wasn’t enough for the Magic as Orlando fell to the Brooklyn Nets, 98-86 Friday night at the Amway Center.
Brooklyn guard Joe Johnson led all scorers with 22 points, while shooting 10-16 from the floor. Gerald Wallace added 20 points, going 5-6 from behind the three-point line for the Nets. Deron Williams added 11 points, 7 assists, and 4 rebounds, while Andray Blatche had 14 points and 9 rebounds to his credit. Blatche was starting in place of injured center, Brook Lopez.
“They just made shots,” said Magic head coach Jacque Vaughn after the game. “Game plan wise we didn’t anticipate Gerald Wallace going 5-6 from three.”
Orlando trailed for most of the first half, after jumping out to a 4-2 lead to begin the game. The Magic would tie the game a total of seven times during the first half, but they could not get themselves back out to a lead.
The second quarter was the only time the Magic outscored the Nets during the game, with Orlando putting up 23 points, compared to Brooklyn’s 20. Orlando finished the first half trailing 45-44, after E’Twaun Moore beat the second quarter buzzer with a layup.
The Magic would take a one point lead early in the third quarter, when guard E’Twaun Moore drove into the lane and laid the ball up to give the Magic their first lead since early in the first quarter. With the score at 48-45 in favor of Orlando, the Nets would go on to make three consecutive three-pointers, to give Brooklyn a 54-52 lead midway through the quarter.
Brooklyn outscored the Magic 31-21 in the third quarter, thanks in part to Gerald Wallace going 4-4 from behind the three-point line during the quarter. Wallace finished the game with 20 points and 4 rebounds.
“We have to make the adjustment,” said Magic forward Glen Davis of Wallace’s shooting performance. “ Even though the guy wasn’t on the scouting report making threes, it’s up to us to make the adjustment. We are in the ballgame if he doesn’t make those threes. When he did hit those shots, it took the light and spirit out of us.”
Orlando would go into the fourth quarter trailing Brooklyn by a score of 76-65, but there was nothing the Magic could do to stop the Nets offense. The Nets outshot the Magic 26-15 during the final quarter, while also outscoring Orlando, 22-21 during the final 12 minutes of play.
Glen Davis led all Magic scorers with 16 points, while teammate Nikola Vucevic notched 12 points and 6 rebounds for Orlando.
With the loss, the Magic are now 5-10 on the season, while going 0-3 against the Nets so far this year. Orlando was 3-0 against the Nets in 2011, while the team was still located in New Jersey.
“There were some mismatches and Gerald Wallace hit a lot of threes tonight,” said Magic guard Arron Afflalo. “He played with a lot of energy. Their whole team did.”
The Magic will now hit the road to face a familiar foe, when they travel to Los Angeles for Sunday’s game against the Lakers. This will be the first time Orlando gets to play against former center Dwight Howard since he was traded.
