By John Denton

March 1, 2015

ORLANDO – Nikola Vucevic takes great pride in his consistency as a player, and the Orlando Magic center is on the threshold of hitting another benchmark that signifies his work in the post on a daily basis.

Vucevic, who signed a four-year contract extension with the Magic in late October, entered Sunday night’s game averaging a career-best 19.9 points and also 11.4 rebounds a game. Even though Vucevic didn’t make the NBA All-Star Game – likely because of the Magic’s poor record – he is on the cusp of becoming the only player in the Eastern Conference to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds a game.

Heading into Sunday’s games, only three other players average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds a game – and Vucevic’s number compare favorably to those superstar players. Sacramento center DeMarcus Cousins (23.7 ppg. and 12.2 rpg.), Portland power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (23.2 ppg. and 10.5 rpg.) and New Orleans power forward Anthony Davis (23.9 ppg. and 10.3 rpg.) are members of the 20/10 club.

``He’s impressive and he gets better every day and every game,’’ Magic coach James Borrego said of Vucevic, who also has 35 double-doubles this season. ``He’s such a skilled big, he cares, he has a lot of pride and he works hard. And I really think he’s growing on both ends of the floor.’’

Averaging 20 points a game is significant for Vucevic considering how he’s grown his offensive game. The 7-footer has boosted his scoring average each of the past four seasons, going 5.5 points per game as a rookie in Philadelphia to 13.1 points and 14.2 points per game each of the past two seasons in Orlando.

``Throughout the whole year and the way our offense flows and the way we really swing the ball from side to side, it really opens up a lot for me,’’ Vucevic said. ``I’ve been feeding off my teammates and I just try to finish when my teammates give me the ball in positions that I like.’’

STILL OUT: For a second consecutive game, Orlando was without key reserves Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon on Sunday night. Fournier injured his right hip on Feb. 20 against the New Orleans Pelicans, but still played 14 minutes against the Philadelphia 76ers last Sunday and 26 minutes against Miami on Wednesday before sitting out of Friday’s game because of lingering pain.

``That kid plays hard and if he’s out, he’s hurting because he’s a tough, competitive kid,’’ Borrego said of Fournier. ``He will try to play. He hurt his heel (Nov. 17 against Detroit) and he continued to play. The kid plays through injury and he’s a tough competitive kid.’’

Gordon rolled his right ankle in the second quarter of Wednesday’s game against the Heat. After shooting two free throws, he intentionally committed a foul so that he could check out of the game. Gordon, who had surgery on his left foot earlier in the season, limped to the locker room and did not return in the game.

GREEN MEANS GO: Veteran guard Willie Green has been in and out of the rotation all season, but he’s finally carved out a consistent role for the Magic under Borrego as a fourth-quarter closer.

Of Green’s 222 points this season, 149 have come in the fourth quarter of games. In February alone – when Green averaged 8.7 points per game – 66 of his 87 points came during the fourth quarter of games. In the 10 games in February, he scored had three double-digit scoring outbursts in the fourth and he had at least seven points in the final 12 minutes seven times.

``First and foremost, I want to give credit to Coach Borrego for holding guys accountable and establishing the way that we want to play,’’ said Green, who wasn’t happy with being out of the rotation early in the season. ``I’ve been saying it for awhile that the talent on this team is better than our record shows. We’ve got a long road still ahead of us, but if this team can keep getting better I like where we’re going.’’

Green showed off his fourth-quarter moxie early in the season against Charlotte when he scored nine points in the fourth quarter – including the go-ahead points off a free throw miss – to cap a rally from 23 points down. Borrego likes Green’s toughness and versatility in the fourth quarter of games.

``We trust him on both ends of the floor – he’s made shots, he’s made the right plays, he’s moved the ball well and he’s really been active defensively,’’ Borrego said. ``He can guard the point guard, the (shooting) guard and the can guard some small forwards. So he is very valuable to us right now on both ends of the floor.’’

Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors.