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National Basketball Association
Orlando 102, Sacramento 94
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, November 3, 2016
Where: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Officials: #19 James Capers, #39 Tyler Ford, #61 Courtney Kirkland
Attendance: 17026

ORLANDO -- This is the kind of game the Orlando Magic expect regularly from Evan Fournier. It is why they gave him the five-year, $85 million contract this summer and traded away shooting guard Victor Oladipo.

They expect Fournier to be the offensive leader, as he was Thursday night.

Fournier scored a season-high 29 points and hit 10 of his 15 shots in leading the Magic to a convincing, 102-94 victory over the Sacramento Kings at the Amway Center.

He hit the big shots when the Magic took control in the second half, from the position Oladipo played last season.

"The contract didn't change anything at all, but I moved from the 3 (small forward) to the 2 (shooting guard), and it feels good there," he said. "When I'm aggressive like I was, it's good for the team."

Fournier, now in his fifth NBA season, is becoming the Magic's go-to scorer and offensive anchor, combing his outside shot with an ability to knife through defenses and reach the free-throw line. His game has become more efficient at shooting guard, his natural position.

"It's just a matter of taking what the defense gives you," he said. "As long as I'm taking good shots, I don't have to score like this every night, but I have to be efficient. There's no pressure, but we have high expectations."

Kings center DeMarcus Cousins led all scorers with 33 points and added seven rebounds, but his help was harder to find. Cousins made 12 of 20 shots. Sacramento, though, was outrebounded 44-39, allowing Orlando 23 second-chance points.

The Magic (2-3) took the lead early in the second period and never lost it. The Kings (2-4) lost their third consecutive game.

Magic forward Serge Ibaka scored 17 points. Reserve Jeff Green had 15 points, while Aaron Gordon contributed 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Center Nikola Vucevic had 10 points and nine rebounds. They played well together and defended down the stretch.

"This is the vision of what we have with this team," Magic coach Frank Vogel said. "Our veterans really care. I'm not surprised we won. I'm happy we won. It takes a little time. It's a process. We took a positive step out there tonight."

Rudy Gay had 16 points for the Kings, but only six after the first quarter. Omri Casspi had 12 points and five rebounds, point guard Ty Lawson finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, and reserve Ben McLemore scored 11 points.

"Offensively, (the Magic) got what they wanted," Gay said. "We have to be a better team than that. We have to complete a game. We have two wins, but I don't feel like we've played a complete game."

After trailing through much of the game, the Kings cut the deficit to 94-92 when Cousins scored with 4:45 remaining. The Magic then shut down Sacramento and scored the next eight points to end any threat.

Fournier had 12 points in the third quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers, when the Magic led by as many as 11 points. Orlando was on top 84-78 going into the final period.

Cousins had 11 points in the third, but the Kings never got closer than six points in the period.

The Magic hit seven 3-pointers and scored 33 points in the second quarter to grab a 56-50 lead at intermission. D.J. Augustin and Green each had a pair of 3-pointers to lead Orlando's second-period charge.

Cousins and Gay dominated early by scoring 14 and 10 points, respectively, in the first quarter. The Kings led by as many as eight points in the first, while the Magic led by as many as eight in the second.

NOTES: The NBA fined Kings F Matt Barnes $15,000 Thursday for inappropriate language directed at an official Tuesday night in an overtime loss to Miami. Barnes, who played earlier in his career for the Magic, is one of eight new players on Sacramento's roster this season. ... The Kings on Wednesday re-signed G Jordan Farmar, who was waived at the end of training camp. ... Magic C Nikola Vucevic was praising Kings C DeMarcus Cousins before the game Wednesday. "Probably the best big man we have in the NBA right now. Very dominant. He's been playing really great for the past few seasons," Vucevic said. ... When the Chicago Cubs won the World Series on Wednesday night, it moved the Sacramento Kings up to No. 3 for the longest non-championship drought in major American professional sports history. The Kings last won an NBA title in 1951 when they were known as the Rochester Royals.
Top Game Performances
 
Sacramento   Orlando
DeMarcus Cousins 33 Scoring Evan Fournier 29
Ty Lawson 5 Assists Elfrid Payton 11
DeMarcus Cousins 7 Rebounds Aaron Gordon 10
DeMarcus Cousins 8 Free Throws Made Evan Fournier 6
DeMarcus Cousins 2 Steals Nikola Vucevic 2
DeMarcus Cousins 1 Blocks Bismack Biyombo 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Sacramento 94 47.5 7-18 11-17 17 39 1 8 14
Orlando 102 45.2 10-30 16-23 24 44 4 5 14
Upcoming Games
  • Orlando will play their next game at home against Washington. The Magic have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .333 after a loss.
  • Sacramento will play their next game on the road against Milwaukee. The Kings have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .500 after a loss.