As the Orlando Magic found out, it’s hard to outscore the Dallas Mavericks.
Luka Doncic finished with 33 points and nine assists as the Mavericks held off the Magic for a 130-124 victory Monday night before 3,766 fans at Amway Center.
Magic coach Steve Clifford gave credit to the Mavericks but said he expected his team to play better defensively.
“Too many mistakes on the defensive end of the floor,” he said. “Offensively we were fine, good enough to win but particularly in the first half, our side pick-and-roll defense, which is normally a big strength, blown coverages, spread out all over the place, and obviously they’re a big part of it.
“The (Kristaps) Porzingis’ flares are an issue, but we spent the whole morning on it and frankly we should have done a lot better.”
Nikola Vucevic delivered 29 points along with a game-high 15 rebounds while Evan Fournier scored 26 for Orlando (13-22), which shot 49.5% and made a season-best 20 3-pointers.
Terrence Ross and Michael Carter-Williams each added 18 points for the Magic, who lost their fourth straight.
Dallas (17-16) also got 24 points from Jalen Brunson as its bench outscored Orlando’s 50-37.
Dallas led 72-69 when it began to create some separation in the third quarter. A three-point play by Doncic capped an 11-2 run as the Mavericks built their first double-digit lead.
The Magic got a three-point play by Ross, a 3 by Gary Clark and a 3 by Vucevic to close within 85-80.
Dallas led by nine to the fourth quarter, then scored the first four points to restore its double-digit advantage.
The Magic offense picked up, but they were stuck with four- and five-point bursts as they couldn’t get enough stops to fuel more substantial runs.
It appeared as if Dallas was ready to pull away when Doncic found Dorian Finney-Smith for a layup to make it 120-102.
But back-to-back 3s from Vucevic and Chuma Okeke gave the Magic life, and they eventually got as close as five after a Ross 3 with 16.6 seconds left.
Ross then misfired on a 3 from the corner on the next possession. Doncic was fouled and made one of two free throws to make it 130-124 with 7.3 seconds to play before Ross missed another 3 as the Magic felt short.
The Magic close out their first-half schedule Wednesday when they host the Atlanta Hawks. The game tips off at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Florida.
