The New Orleans Pelicans (3-4) looked like they were beginning to turn the corner on Saturday after a decisive win over the Cavaliers. The Orlando Magic (5-2) took that momentum and flushed it down the drain with a 115-99 win on Monday night in the Smoothie King Center.
The Magic got out of the gates strong with an 8-0 run in the first three minutes of the ballgame. The Pelicans did get back into shortly after that early run, but Evan Fournier proved to be too much for them as the Magic got out to a 33-24 lead after the first quarter.
Orlando continued to hold onto their lead, but the Pelicans fought back in the final moments of the first half and went into the locker room with a four point lead thanks to a three ball from Tony Allen with 2.4 seconds left.
The third quarter saw the lead change a total of five times and stay competitive in the third quarter with the Magic holding a three-point lead headed into the final quarter. Orlando began to put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter thanks to a big performance from the Magic’s bench. Jonathon Simmons and Marreese Speights wound up each racking up 12 points to seal the win on the road.
The Pelicans will return to action on Wednesday at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves (4-3) with tipoff set for 7 pm.
-Clint Domingue