Evan Fournier scored 24 points, Nikola Vucevic had 22 and the Orlando Magic picked up where they left off before the NBA season was suspended, routing the Brooklyn Nets 128-118 on Friday in their first game of the restart.
Playing as the designated road team not far from their arena, the Magic looked right at home at Disney — whose name they wear as their jersey patch. They extended their winning streak to four and moved back ahead of the Nets into seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
Players and coaches from both teams knelt during the national anthem except for Orlando's Jonathan Isaac, who also was the only player not wearing a Black Lives Matter warmup shirt. Isaac, who was playing his first game since a left knee injury on Jan. 1, stood with his arms behind his back while wearing his regular jersey.
Orlando Magic's Aaron Gordon, right, watches a rebound with Brooklyn Nets' Lance Thomas (42) and Joe Harris, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, July 31, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP PhotoAshley Landis, Pool)
Brooklyn also won its last three before the stoppage, but the decimated team that returned is a shell of the one that beat the Lakers in Los Angeles in its final game.
The Nets are missing Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan and Taurean Prince after they tested positive for the coronavirus. They are already playing without Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, who had season-ending surgery.
So Brooklyn started two players who hadn't started an NBA game this season — one who never had. The Nets looked good at the beginning, shooting nearly 70% in the first quarter, but the Magic blew by them in winning for the third time in three meetings this season.
Orlando Magic's Markelle Fultz (20) brings the ball down the court during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets Friday, July 31, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP PhotoAshley Landis, Pool)
Orlando led by as much as 30 before the Nets had a late flurry that forced the Magic to put starters back in for the closing minutes.
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 24 points for the Nets and Caris LeVert had 17. Brooklyn lost for the first time in three games since Jacque Vaughn replaced Kenny Atkinson as coach on March 7.
TIP-INS
Orlando Magic's Markelle Fultz (20) heads to the basket as Brooklyn Nets' Joe Harris, right, defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, July 31, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP PhotoAshley Landis, Pool)
Magic: Isaac finished with 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting. ... Orlando’s 36 points were a season high for a first quarter.
Nets: Chris Chiozza made his first career start at point guard. Veteran Lance Thomas, cut in the preseason, made his first start of the season. ... Veteran Jamal Crawford, signed as a substitute player after not playing in the NBA this season, did not play. ... Vaughn played for the Magic and coached them from 2012-15.
UP NEXT
Orlando Magic's Markelle Fultz (20) heads to the basket as Brooklyn Nets' Joe Harris (12) and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (9) defend during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, July 31, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP PhotoAshley Landis, Pool)
Magic: Play Sacramento on Sunday.
Nets: Play Washington on Sunday.
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