Magic rally to beat Nets 115-113, move closer to 7th place

NEW YORK (AP) - Aaron Gordon had 27 points, 10 rebounds and a big blocked shot in the final seconds, helping the Orlando Magic rally for a 115-113 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.

The Magic charged back from a 19-point deficit in the first half to move within 1 1/2 games of the Nets for seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

Terrence Ross added 21 points and eight rebounds, Evan Fournier scored 21 and Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 10 boards for the Magic, who were superb offensively in the second half when they couldn't rely on their trusty defense to get stops.

Spencer Dinwiddie had 24 points and eight assists for the Nets, who had won five straight at home by double digits and appeared poised to extend that streak.

The Nets extended their lead to 48-32 when Dinwiddie made a 3-pointer with 3:12 left in the second quarter. They pushed the advantage to 19 early in the third before Vucevic rebounded from a two-point first half by going 5 for 5 for 12 points in Orlando's 40-point third quarter that cut it to 87-81.

Orlando then opened the fourth with a 7-0 spurt, with Ross' dunk with 10:35 remaining making it 88-87 and giving the Magic their first lead since the first quarter. Neither team led by more than four from there.

Gordon's 3-pointer made it 115-111 with 1:12 to play, but Brooklyn cut it to two on Jarrett Allen's dunk. The Nets had a chance to tie, but Gordon blocked Caris LeVert near the rim.

Brooklyn got a final chance after Orlando threw away an inbounds pass, but couldn't get off a good shot.

TIP-INS

Magic: Injured F Jonathan Isaac, sidelined by a left knee injury, is with the team and coach Steve Clifford said the plan is for him to travel for all road trips of more than one game. Isaac was hurt Jan. 1. 'œHe's feeling a lot better, so it's good to have him around,'ť Clifford said.

Nets: LeVert scored 19 points and Allen had 16 points and 11 rebounds.

IRVING UPDATE

Kyrie Irving still hasn't had surgery on his right shoulder that will end his first season in Brooklyn. The decision to have surgery was made last week after Irving saw a specialist, but coach Kenny Atkinson said there's a lot that goes into the timing of when the procedure will be done.

'œI think you're tying to gather as much information and I know he's talking to the medical team, the performance team to find the best time, the best place, all that, best doctor,'ť Atkinson said. 'œAnd it's not even the best, it's like, what fits. And when we have more information we'll get it to you.'ť

UP NEXT

Magic: Visit Atlanta on Wednesday.

Nets: Visit Washington on Wednesday.