ORLANDO, Fla. _ Friday night, defense wasn't the Orlando Magic's primary problem for once.
Offense was the issue.
With their defense playing its best game all season, the Magic simply didn't have enough offense on the floor down the stretch against the Utah Jazz.
A fourth-quarter Jazz run led by Rodney Hood and an ice-cold attack sent the Magic to an 87-74 loss at Amway Center.
The Magic took a 70-66 lead on a pair of D.J. Augustin free throws with 9:37 remaining in the game, but the Magic missed their next 12 attempts from the field.
Orlando made just three baskets and scored only 10 points the entire fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, Hood _ a 6-foot-8 swingman _ scored 11 of his 13 points in the final period.
The Magic limited the Jazz to 41 percent shooting. That would be good enough to win for most teams but not for the Magic (3-6), who have lost three consecutive games.
Augustin scored a season-high 19 points off the bench, and Evan Fournier added 21 points. Other than Augustin and Fournier, however, the Magic didn't any other offensive threats.
Coach Frank Vogel altered the starting lineup, beginning the game with Jeff Green at small forward and moving Aaron Gordon to the bench.
Gordon had started all eight of Orlando's previous games, but the Magic typically struggled early and fell behind by double digits in the first half.
Having Gordon play alongside point guard Elfrid Payton has been problematic on the offensive end of the court. Opposing teams don't respect Payton's and Gordon's shooting skills, which prompts the defenders guarding them to sag toward the paint. That leaves little room on the interior for the rest of the offense to maneuver. When Payton and Gordon have shot, their misses lead to long rebounds and have led to opponents fast breaks.
Gordon still played extensively Friday. In 25 minutes, he compiled nine points and seven rebounds.
But Vogel added another wrinkle on top of his starting lineup change.
For a stretch, he played Gordon simultaneously with rarely used stretch power forward Damjan Rudez. Having a big man who forces opposing defenses to account for his 3-point shooting is key for Gordon, whose offensive game should be predicated on slashing to the hoop with sharp cuts, catching lobs and gobbling up offensive rebounds. Rudez's presence gives Gordon a bit more space to operate.
The Magic took a 34-27 lead when Gordon sank a pull-up jumper from 19 feet midway through the second quarter.
The lead didn't last long.
The Jazz went on a 12-0 run as the Magic's offense went cold once the starters were subbed back in and Utah swingman Gordon Hayward gained some momentum. Hayward keyed the run with a dunk, a pair of free throws and a step-back jumper from 16 feet.
Hayward was the most complete player on the court Friday. He finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Four players for the Jazz (6-4) scored in double figures: Hayward, Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert and Hood.
Still, the Magic fared better in Friday's first half than in most other first halves this season.
They trailed by double digits in the first halves of six of their first eight games. But against the Jazz, they faced a maximum first-half deficit of nine points _ still problematic but an improvement nonetheless.
Utah took a 58-55 lead when Hayward made a pair of free throws with 2:16 left in the third quarter.
But a lineup of Augustin, Fournier, Gordon, Rudez and Bismack Biyombo responded well.
Biyombo scored on a dunk. Augustin made a layup. Fournier stole the ball from Trey Lyles and dunked on a fast break to give Orlando a 61-58 lead.
A short while later, Biyombo blocked a layup attempt by Hayward. Augustin then made a 3-pointer, and Amway Center was the loudest it had been all night.
The Magic carried a 64-60 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Jazz eroded that lead. Hood scored seven consecutive points _ on a 3-pointer, a driving dunk and a jumper _ to put Utah ahead 75-71.
