By John Denton

Dec. 15, 2016

ORLANDO – Jeff Green, who has been something of a mentor all season to fellow forward Aaron Gordon, said the 21-year-old’s career night on Wednesday came about simply because, well, ``he played simple.’’

As for the mindset that Gordon had en route to the spectacular 33-point, seven-rebound, five-dunk night, it doesn’t get much simpler than this from the Orlando Magic standout: ``If they are bigger, I’m quicker. And if they are smaller, then I can overpower them,’’ Gordon pointed out matter-of-factly.

Keeping things simple has been the mission of the Magic (11-16) for Gordon, who tended to over-dribble and take shots out of his range early in the season. Being patient and staying under control aren’t attributes always in great abundance in third-year NBA players, especially ones with the seemingly limitless talent and tireless work ethic like Gordon. Even though he is extremely confident that his game is ready to sky-rocket to another stratosphere and he’s put in the work to make it happen, Gordon has had dial things back at various times so that he stays within the Magic’s team concept.

Wednesday wasn’t one of those nights as Gordon used his off-the-charts athleticism, steadily improving jump shot and his high basketball IQ to excite the sellout crowd at the Amway Center. Orlando matched the star-studded Los Angeles Clippers basket for basket most of the night before ultimately losing 113-108, but the positive of the night for the Magic was the confidence and control that Gordon displayed throughout 40 nearly flawless minutes on the floor.

``He’s capable of doing what he did (on Wednesday) and, for the most part, he made good decisions,’’ Magic coach Frank Vogel said. ``That was a great all-around basketball game for him, so I’m proud of him.’’

The Magic are hopeful that Gordon will be able to keep up the controlled and confident play on Friday night when they host the high-energy Brooklyn Nets at the Amway Center. Orlando has been a highly impressive team on the road, winning in San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Detroit and Atlanta, but it has struggled at home. The Magic are just 4-9 in Orlando and are riding a six-game skid at the Amway Center – something that Gordon knows must change immediately if they are going to be playoff contenders this season.

``These (games) are very big and I think we understand the severity of these next two games,’’ Gordon said referring to Orlando’s consecutive home games against Brooklyn (Friday) and Toronto (Sunday). ``There’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll come out with more urgency and more determination. We’re a passionate team and we’ll get it done.’’

The fact that the Magic didn’t get it done on Wednesday kept Gordon from fully enjoying the best night of his 2½-year NBA career. Offensively, he made 13 of 21 shots, four of eight 3-point shots and three of six free throws. Of the five dunks – some of which would have held up favorably to the jaw-dropping, high-flying show that he put on in last fall’s dunk contest – two came off his hustle on the offensive glass, two were thunderous alley-oops and another was from him simply outrunning the Clippers down the floor.

Deadpanned Gordon: ``A win would have felt much better.’’

Green, a nine-year veteran who has stayed in the ear of Gordon to help him try and straddle the fine line of being aggressive while also playing under control, was very impressed with the performance. It was, in a word, simple, Green stressed.

``He was aggressive, didn’t hesitate on his shot and he played simple. When the shot was there, he took it. And when the drive was there, he drove and he got in transition. He showed it all,’’ said Green, who played well himself with 19 points and four 3-pointers. ``Previous games, (Gordon) was just missing shots. He got the same shots that he’s been taking. Being aggressive and getting to the rim was good for him and he had some tremendous dunks – the reverse one was pretty nice – and he just played the game and took what was there.’’

And what Gordon did on the defensive end might have been even more impressive, Vogel stressed. The coach started the game out with Gordon, a 6-foot-9, 220-pound forward, on Clippers’ standout J.J. Redick – an agile 6-4, 190-pound guard known for his ability to exhaust foes by running them off screens. And, later in the night, Vogel switched Gordon onto superstar point guard Chris Paul in hopes of disrupting L.A.’s pick-and-roll-based offense. Ultimately, Gordon limited Redick to one-of-five shooting in the first quarter, while Paul had only one fourth-quarter field goal.

``At his best, he’s a two-way wing player who’s capable of taking any matchup that comes his way,’’ Vogel said of Gordon, who is averaging 10.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists a game while shooting 43.1 percent from the floor and 32.1 percent from 3-point range. ``The offense is something that I don’t expect, getting 33 points from him every night. But I encourage him to explore his game within the team concept and keep shooting the basketball.’’

When defenses back away and leave him wide-open – as Clippers’ center DeAndre Jordan did repeatedly on Wednesday – Gordon plans to keep on shooting. Just taking what the defense gives him is one way that Gordon can keep things simple, he said.

``I hope they keep backing up because I’m going to shoot right over the top of them,’’ Gordon stressed.

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