ORLANDO, Fla. _ The Orlando Magic's tenuous playoff hopes suffered another blow Friday night.
They lost to the Denver Nuggets 103-89 and also lost their leading scorer, Aaron Gordon, to a concussion.
Gordon suffered the injury with 6:15 remaining in the third quarter when he drove toward the hoop and collided face-first into one of Gary Harris' shoulders. Gordon was subbed out with 1:11 left in the period and didn't return to the game.
The Magic already were missing swingman Evan Fournier, the team's second-leading scorer, who sprained his right ankle on Wednesday. The team also was missing injured swingman Terrence Ross and injured forward Jonathan Isaac.
Gordon opened Friday leading the Magic in scoring, averaging 18.7 points per game.
But even before Gordon suffered his concussion, the Magic struggled to generate much offense against the Nuggets.
The ball stuck. Hardly anyone made sharp cuts. Players took too many ill-advised shots early in the shot clock.
The Magic made only 39.8 percent of their shots.
Gordon also sustained a concussion late in the 2015-16 season.
Whenever an NBA player suffers a concussion, his return to the court is governed by a protocol put in place by the league. Before a player can appear in a game again, he must pass a series of progressively more difficult physical tests and remain symptom-free during and after each test. The team also must consult with an independent neurologist before the player is cleared to return.
With Gordon and Fournier out, Magic center Nikola Vucevic and swingman Jonathon Simmons will have to take on a bigger load.
Vucevic scored 21 points on 10 of 19 shooting and collected 17 rebounds against Denver while Simmons added 21 points on 9 of 17 shooting.
In his 29 minutes of playing time, Gordon scored 14 points on 5 of 12 shooting.
The Magic's starters opened the game well while the Nuggets struggled with their shooting throughout the opening quarter. Orlando stormed out to a 25-14 lead to end the first quarter as Denver went only 6 of 20 from the field.
But the Magic's depleted bench struggled to maintain that lead.
Coach Frank Vogel opened the second quarter with Elfrid Payton, D.J. Augustin, Wes Iwundu, Marreese Speights and Bismack Biyombo on the floor. Even with Augustin and Speights, the quintet has too little shooting prowess to mount much of a threat, and the Nuggets cut their deficit to 34-29 before Vogel put Vucevic and Gordon back in for Speights and Biyombo.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets started to hit some shots.
In the second quarter, they went 15 of 26 from the field, with reserves Emmanuel Mudiay, Kenneth Faried and Malik Beasley combining to score 29 of Denver's 35 points.
While the Magic (11-16) struggled to make up for the injuries to Fournier, Ross and Isaac, the Nuggets (14-11) face significant absences of their own. Power forward Paul Millsap is out until mid-February, at least, with a wrist injury, and center Nikola Jokic sat out his fourth consecutive game because of a sprained left ankle.
On Friday, the Magic's poor offense helped the Nuggets generate some offense.
After the Nuggets opened the game 6 of 20, they made 26 of their next 40 attempts and took a 75-64 lead with 4:36 to play in the third quarter.
The Nuggets shot 49.4 percent from the field Friday and received a team-high 20 points from Faried. Will Barton added 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. Mudiay finished with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists.
But now, the Magic's biggest concern isn't their defense.
It's how they will cope without their top two scorers, Gordon and Fournier.
