ORLANDO, Fla. _ Ever since the Orlando Magic lost any realistic chance of making the playoffs, coach Frank Vogel has said his team would try to win every game down the stretch and attempt to build winning habits.
That has been Vogel's message for weeks: The final stretch of the season is critical to improving the Magic's culture.
The Magic's approach Thursday night contradicted that statement.
Evan Fournier sat out against the Brooklyn Nets due to a sore right wrist. Jeff Green, shut down by the team for the rest of the season, did not play yet again. Starting small forward Terrence Ross played sparingly in the second half.
Instead, the Magic gave extended minutes to rookie center Stephen Zimmerman and recent rookie signees Patricio Garino and Marcus Georges-Hunt. The goal, Vogel said, was to give them experience. But in the process, even though they defeated the Nets, 115-107, at Amway Center, the Magic risked undermining their already fragile culture.
Jodie Meeks almost single-handedly catapulted the Magic over the Nets. He turned a game that was tied 50-50 at halftime on its ear. Meeks scored 13 consecutive points in the third quarter and finished the quarter with 18 points _ the highest point total by a Magic player in a quarter this season.
Meeks has plenty of motivation these days. He missed most of this season because of foot surgery and a right-thumb injury. He needs to finish the season well because he will become a free agent in July.
Because of Meeks' exploits, the Magic entered the fourth quarter ahead 86-71. The Magic needed all the cushion they could muster, because they opened the second and fourth quarters with a lineup of D.J. Augustin, Mario Hezonja, Garino, Georges-Hunt and Zimmerman on the floor.
Thursday's game had no playoff implications, but it meant something for next month's NBA draft lottery.
The Magic entered the night with the NBA's fourth-worst record, 27-51. The Philadelphia 76ers had the league's fifth-worst record, 28-50.
The Magic's win over the Nets and the Sixers' 102-90 loss to the Chicago Bulls now has the Magic and Sixers tied with identical 28-51 records. If the current standings hold, the Magic dampened their lottery odds by a slight margin because of Thursday night's victory. But there's also a chance that Orlando will win one of its final three games and overtake the Sixers in the standings.
It was fitting that Jacque Vaughn was in Amway Center on Thursday night as the Nets' lead assistant coach.
Vaughn was the Magic's head coach when the franchise tanked its 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons in an attempt to maximize its lottery odds. The Magic did not acquire franchise-changing talents during the subsequent drafts, and the tanking eroded the franchise's culture while it frustrated veterans such as J.J. Redick, Jameer Nelson and Arron Afflalo.
To his credit, Vogel has said he won't cut back on his veterans' minutes in games that have playoff implications. That means he will employ his regular rotation when the Magic face the Indiana Pacers on Saturday and the Chicago Bulls on Monday.
The Nets (19-60) have the NBA's worst record, but they have no reason to tank their final games because the Boston Celtics own their first-round pick. Brooklyn began Thursday on a three-game winning streak, including a 121-111 victory over Orlando last weekend.
On Thursday, Jeremy Lin sank a 3-pointer to cut the Magic's lead to 93-86 midway through the fourth quarter.
But on the Magic's next possession, Georges-Hunt made a short-range hook shot. And following a miss by the Nets' Isaiah Whitehead, Georges-Hunt sank a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 98-86 with six minutes to play.
The Magic held on from there.
They won the game.
But in the process, their culture may have lost something.
