Marreese Speights lights it up off bench, Magic pull away in 2nd half to beat Pelicans
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NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Marreese Speights highlighted an 18-point performance by hitting five of his career-high six 3-pointers during a decisive 22-6 run, and the Orlando Magic soundly defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 115-99 on Monday night.
Speights' second 3 of the game made it 87-83 in the final minute of the third quarter. He drained four more early in the fourth, after which Orlando led 106-89.
Coming off a lopsided victory over Cleveland on Saturday, the Pelicans were unable to respond during the final seven minutes.
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Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier and Jonathon Simmons each scored 20 points for Orlando, which shot 50.6 percent (43 of 85) from the field and 47.1 percent (16 of 34) from 3-point range. Aaron Gordon added 17 points, helping the Magic bounce back from a loss at Charlotte a night earlier.
Anthony Davis had 39 points and 10 rebounds for New Orleans, but the Pelicans made only seven of their 28 3-point attempts, hitting only 3 of 18 from deep in the second half.
DeMarcus Cousins had 12 points and 12 assists for the Pelicans, while Jrue Holiday scored 11 points.
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Speights, a 6-foot-10 power forward, hasn't been shy about shooting from distance, but had made only 3 of 9 attempts from deep in the Magic's first six games. But he was clearly confident in his shot in New Orleans, attempting 10, often without hesitation and from a couple feet behind the 3-point line a couple times.
The Magic, who trailed 64-60 at halftime, opened the third quarter on a 12-2 run fueled by Vucevic's seven points on a layup, a 3 and a 17-footer.
Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry called timeout, and New Orleans briefly regained the lead with a 10-2 spurt that included back-to-back left wing 3s by Dante Cunningham.
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But the Magic were the steadier team throughout the period, hitting 12 of 20 shots, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range.
TIP-INS
Magic: Scored the first eight points of the game and led 33-24 after the first quarter, when Fournier hit three 3s and scored 11 of his points. … Orlando came in averaging 117.2 points and has reached 113 in all seven of its games.
Pelicans: Cousins, who entered the night second in the NBA in turnovers with five per game, had two passes intercepted in the first 3:31 and finished with six turnovers. … The Pelicans were aiming for their first winning record since the last day of the 2014-15 season, which also was the last time they made the playoffs.
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UP NEXT
Magic: Visit Memphis on Wednesday night for their third game in four nights.
Pelicans: Host Minnesota on Wednesday night.