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Orlando Sentinel
Orlando Sentinel
Sport
Roy Parry

Magic offense stalls as Raptors rally for 90-83 win

ORLANDO, Fla. _ The Orlando Magic's offense stalled during the second half and the Toronto Raptors pounced.

Norman Powell scored a career-high 33 points, including 19 in the third quarter, as the Raptors pulled away for a 90-83 win over the Magic Friday night at Amway Center.

The Raptors (14-4) improved to 3-0 this season against the Magic (7-11) and have now won the past seven meetings dating back to last season's playoffs.

The loss also snapped a three-game home win streak for the Magic, whose 83 points were a season low.

Evan Fournier had 19 points and six assists, while Markelle Fultz scored 15 points and Mo Bamba had 11 for Orlando, which shot 34.6% from the field and couldn't overcome a season high 22 turnovers. Toronto converted those turnovers into 18 points.

Magic forward Aaron Gordon returned to the starting lineup after missing three games with an ankle injury and finished with eight points and eight rebounds in 32 minutes.

Fred VanVleet chipped in 22 points for Toronto. He combined with Powell for 10 of Toronto's 11 3-pointers.

Raptors leading scorer Pascal Siakam managed just 10 points on 4-of-22 shooting.

But Powell more than made up for Siakam's struggles, scoring 15 points during a decisive 20-2 third-quarter run that saw the Raptors turn a 51-40 deficit into a 60-53 advantage.

The Magic were 3 of 19 from the field with six turnovers during the 7-minute, 33-second stretch.

Powell alone outscored Orlando 19-12 in the third quarter.

The Magic scored six quick points to grab some early momentum in the fourth and close within 66-65. Bamba had four of those points off two dunks _ the first came off an offensive rebound and the second off a lob from Al-Farouq Aminu.

But the Raptors pushed the lead back to 10 after a three-point play by Chris Boucher and the Magic never got closer than seven the rest of the way.

The first half was a defensive slugfest as the teams combined to shoot 34.5% (29 of 84) from the field. The Magic contributed to the Raptors' 30.6% shooting with nine blocks _ a season-high for the first half _ and held them to a season-low 40 first-half points.

The Magic led by as many as 10 before the Raptors got within two on an 8-0 run. But Orlando closed the half on a 14-6 run during the last 5:32 to build a seven-point halftime lead.

Orlando played without starting center Nikola Vucevic, the team's leading rebounder and second-leading scorer, and reserve guard Michael Carter-Williams. Vucevic has now missed four games with a sprained right ankle, while Carter-Williams has missed the past five games with left hip irritation.

The Magic return to action Sunday when they host the Golden State Warriors at 6 p.m. The game will air on Fox Sports Florida.

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