Magic trounce Suns thanks to scoring balance
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Even without two starters the Orlando Magic showed they can still compete in the post-Dwight Howard era, as they pulled away in the second half to upend the Phoenix Suns, 115-94, on Sunday.
J.J. Redick had 24 points and six assists off the bench, while Arron Afflalo and Glen Davis each netted 22 points for Orlando, which shot 9-of-11 from behind the arc and made 64 percent of its shots after halftime.
Nikola Vucevic posted a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds in the resounding win.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"There's only five or six plays you can run in the NBA, so it's a matter of putting people in different places," Redick said. "It's not really what type of offense you run, just how well you execute it."
E'Twaun Moore filled in for Jameer Nelson, who is day-to-day with a sore a groin, hamstring and ankle, while DeQuan Jones got the start in place of the injured Hedo Turkoglu. Turkoglu broke his hand in the Magic's season-opening win over Denver on Friday and will be sidelined at least four weeks.
Moore totaled 15 points and six assists in his first career start, while Jones, an undrafted rookie out of Miami, had two points in 16 minutes.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Suns, led by Luis Scola's 24 points and Michael Beasley's 22, lost their first road games of the season after splitting two at home.
"They made shots, and our timing was off defensively," Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. "We have to do a better job defensively."
The Magic trailed by 10 at halftime, then broke loose and outscored the Suns by 20 in the third quarter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Davis, after being limited to 15 minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, scored 14 points in the frame, while Afflalo came alive with eight points during a 14-2 flurry that gave Orlando the lead.
A Scola jumper put Phoenix in front, 75-74, after the run, but the Magic scored 12 of the final 13 points in the frame to bring an 86-76 cushion into the fourth.
Orlando shot 67 percent (16-of-24) from the field in third and had 14 more points in the paint, and Moore opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Another deep make by Afflalo pushed the margin to 100-82 with under five minutes left, and the hosts cruised to the finish line from there.
A 13-3 run -- spurred by seven points from Beasley -- gave the Suns a 24-15 lead with under four minutes to go in the opening quarter.
Phoenix stayed in front the rest of the half, taking a 33-26 lead into the second quarter and extending it to 56-46 at halftime.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Game Notes
The game was delayed 13 minutes when the net on one of the baskets needed to be replaced after a fan ripped off the nylon trying to dunk off a trampoline during the second-quarter intermission ... Phoenix shot 50 percent in the first half and 37 percent in the second ... Marcin Gortat, who spent his first three-plus pro seasons in Orlando, logged 14 points and 11 boards in the loss.