ORLANDO, Fla. _ The Orlando Magic rallied from a 16-point third quarter deficit Thursday night at Amway Center to set the stage for what looked like was going to be a dramatic comeback against the Portland Trail Blazers.
The problem for the Magic, however, was that the Blazers still had Damian Lillard on the floor.
Lillard dropped 41 points on the Magic _ 15 of which came in the fourth quarter. He helped Portland hold off a late Orlando charge to post a 128-114 victory.
An offensive flurry, finally, from the Magic at the end of the third quarter appeared to set the tone for a dramatic fourth-quarter rally, and even though they missed the first three shot attempts of the final period, Aaron Gordon's 3-pointer brought the crowd to its feet as Orlando battled back.
Terrence Ross followed with another 3-pointer and two free throws from Jonathon Simmons pulled the home team within 98-94, but Lillard was having none of that as he single-handedly carried the Blazers in the last 12 minutes.
Lillard told a Portland television broadcast team after the game that a Magic fan was razzing him the entire game and he made it his goal to shut the fan up.
Besides Lillard's offense, C.J. McCollum added 22 points and the guard combo was impressive all night. Lillard also had six assists and seven rebounds.
Nikola Vucevic led the Magic with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Ross had 21 points, while Evan Fournier and Gordon each had 17. Jonathan Isaac added 10 points and four blocks.
Lillard's coast-to-coast drive and layup at the halftime buzzer gave the Blazers a 10-point lead at the break and it was exactly what Magic coach Steve Clifford has been challenging his team to avoid.
Clifford said there is not much coaching one can do to get his team to fall back on defense. It takes a cognizant effort along with a physical awareness to make the quick transition from offense to defense and Clifford has been surprised by what he's seen at points during the first five games of the season.
Against quick, penetrating guards like Portland's Lillard and McCollum, it becomes doubly important to make sure and get back on defense or they will burn the Magic every time.
"It's more of an effort thing and awareness than anything else," Clifford said prior to tipoff Thursday night. "There's no part of the game that takes less technique or thought than running hard all the way back every time. We've gotta spring back, like tonight.
"Lillard, McCollum will come at you."
Indeed they did.
