The Magic came out sluggish Sunday evening but squeaked out a 102-96 victory over the visiting Toronto Raptors.
Ryan Anderson lead the Magic with 24 points shooting 9-16 from the field and 5-8 from beyond the arc.
“We sort of could’ve just given up, but we kept pushing through it,” Anderson said. “This was huge for us.”
Anderson put into the starting line up this year along side Hedu Turkoglu have given the Magic a balanced attack.
“They both have been making shots for us, it’s huge and helps guys like JJ and Jason to also get open looks,” Van Gundy said.
JJ Redick scored 21 points followed by Dwight Howard’s 19 points 15 rebounds while Hedu chipped in 15.
The Magic down 16 points in the second half cut the deficit to 86-89 with a Redick 3 from the corner with 5:40 left in the 4th quarter.
A Hedu Turkoglu fall away 3 gave the Magic a 91-89 lead lead with 3:27 left in the game. Orlando would never relinquish that lead.
Dwight didn’t have his 3rd consecutive 20-20 game but his 19 points and 15 rebounds proved to be enough. Howard was more focused on the mentality of his team during their come back Sunday night.
“That come back tonight reminds me of the team that went to the finals. We didn’t give up and had no doubt we would come back,” Howard said post game.
Andrea Bargnani lead all scorers with 28 points, 25 coming in the first half. Jose Calderon put on a show with 18 points and 13 assists followed by DeMar DeRozan’s 17 points.
Orlando will take it’s 4 game winning streak on the road to play the Detroit Pistons at the Palace Monday night at 7:30pm.
