ORLANDO, Fla. _ Evan Fournier's buzzer-beater over Kyle Korver saved the Orlando Magic from the meltdown they were trying to avoid Monday night. The Magic escaped with a 102-100 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, giving Orlando its second consecutive victory.
The Magic (4-6) barely avoided a major second-half crash and survived mostly thanks to their defense.
With the game tied, Nikola Vucevic blocked a George Hill shot with less than three seconds left and Aaron Gordon then deflected the ball off Hill and out of bounds, giving the Magic the ball with 1.3 seconds remaining.
Out of an Orlando timeout, the Magic went to Fournier, whose shot set off an on-court celebration the Amway Center had not seen in quite some time.
It was another defensive play that allowed the Magic, who led by as many as 11 points in the third quarter, to tie the game.
Fournier, Terrence Ross and Mo Bamba surrounded Kyle Korver on a Cleveland (1-9) inbounds pass and Fournier stole the ball with 13 seconds left in the game. He drove to the other end and was fouled at the basket. He hit one of two free throws with 12.6 seconds remaining to tie the game at 100.
It capped a Magic late fourth quarter surge.
D.J. Augustin's two free throws with 18 seconds left got Orlando within 100-99.
The Magic rallied behind a pair of 3-pointers by Fournier to take their first lead since early in the third quarter at 91-88 with 3:33 left in the game. Cleveland, however, kept pushing and led by five with 41 seconds left.
Gordon led the Magic with 23 points and nine rebounds, Fournier and Terrence Ross, who was huge off the bench, had 15 points apiece and Vucevic added 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Magic had built an 11-point lead in the third quarter when the meltdown began. Cleveland outscored the home team 32-12 in the third, not only erasing the Orlando's biggest lead but pulling ahead 79-70 to start the fourth quarter.
Gordon and Ross led the way in the first half, scoring 16 and 11 points, as the Magic came out nearly matching the energy that helped them defeat the Spurs in San Antonio on Sunday. Orlando shot 52 percent from the field in the opening half Monday and forced 11 Cleveland turnovers, including seven steals.
