The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night, led by Dirk Nowitzki’s 25 points and eight rebounds. Elfrid Payton led the way for the Orlando Magic with his first career triple-double, scoring 15 points on 60 percent shooting, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds. He often draws comparisons to Rajon Rondo, and tonight Payton beat Rondo on an individual level.
The game started with a 12-0 run by Dallas, which was pretty representative of how the first half went. However, Orlando was pesky and would not go away. In the second half, the Magic outscored the Mavericks, 54-42, and 32-21 in the fourth quarter.
Considering that Tobias Harris and Dewayne Dedmon were out, this was an impressive performance for the Magic. Tobias Harris is their third highest scorer, and Dewayne Dedmon has become the anchor on defense. Willie Green was also out tonight due to a back injury. Luke Ridnour, Kyle O’Quinn, and Maurice Harkless all benefited from their absence. Harkless had his best game of the season, scoring 18 points on 8 of 15 shooting, with six rebounds and four steals. Harkless played 36 minutes in the starting role.
Besides Dirk’s 25, Monta Ellis had 21 points, but no other starter scored in double digits for the Mavericks. Devin Harris played well off the bench with 12 points, a game after leaving in the second half with stomach issues. On the defensive end, Tyson Chandler played well, holding Nikola Vucevic to just 12 points, and blocking four shots. Rajon Rondo played decent defense, but had eight turnovers on the offensive end, to counter his nine points, 11 assists, and six rebounds.
Overall, this was a great performance by the Magic on national television, and the Mavs needed this win to continue their hot streak, now at three wins in a row.
The Magic will play their next game on Friday versus the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Mavericks will host the Grizzlies on Friday night. The Magic inched closer to being eliminated from playoff contention tonight, and the Mavericks inch closer to the third seed.