Almost nobody blocks a dunk attempt at the rim by 7-foot, 260-pound Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid.
Don’t, however, tell that to Jonathan Isaac.
He’ll likely have a clip of the play on his phone ready for anyone to watch after his massive block of Embiid led to a big-time momentum swing for the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night at Amway Center.
Isaac didn’t want to take all the credit, but even the guy who hit the game-winning 3-pointer was ready to offer up props. Isaac’s huge play fired up the Amway crowd, which watched the Magic roll off 21 consecutive points to overcome a late 16-point 76ers lead and send Philadelphia and new acquisition Jimmy Butler home with a 111-106 loss.
“It was a big momentum play for us because, man, if he would have got that dunk, it would have been a big momentum play for them … and it would have been a little tough for us to come back,” Ross said of the Isaac dunk. “Isaac was just selfless and he went up there and went for it and it came out on his side.
“It felt great, the fans going crazy.”
They were going crazy after Ross, who has come up big for the Magic lately, hit a 3-point bomb with 8.7 seconds left to push Orlando (7-8) to a 109-106 lead. Two Nikola Vucevic free throws provided the final margin and the Magic ruined the Philly debut of Butler, who was traded to the Sixers on Monday by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“You could tell, the guys were good, positive with each other, upbeat and came back in the fourth and played 12 hard, hard, smart minutes and it was good to see,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said. “We’re playing better. … I think they badly want to win, and in the simplest form, to win in the NBA, this sounds stupid, you have to play well.
“And a lot of times, when you don’t play well, and you don’t pass the ball the way we should, it looks like you’re not trying or you don’t care. I don’t think the care factor … is an issue here. I think it’s a strength. We have to play well.”
Asked about whether he thought NBA fans tuned in to the game just to see Butler with his new team, Ross said, “Of course … any time a big trade happens like that in the league it creates attention, so it’s good to kind of spoil that. …”
Butler ended the game with 14 points but, after playing a significant role in the first half, was shut down, as was Embiid, in the final 24 minutes. The two stars combined for just 12 points in the second half after Embiid started the game by scoring 13 points in his first nine minutes.
The Amway Center crowd seemed to take significant enjoyment in a pair of turnovers by former Orlando Magic player J.J. Redick in the final 30 seconds that allowed the Magic’s momentum to keep rolling.
Redick was called for an offensive foul with half a minute to go. On the Magic’s possession off the turnover, they milked the clock and Ross flashed high, created some space off the dribble and, with the clock winding down, stuck the 27-foot dagger.
“I just wanted to take as much time off the clock as possible and kind of try to take the last shot on that possession just to make it tough on them regardless of if I made it or not,” Ross said.
Isaac, however, was responsible for the loudest roar of the night from the Amway faithful. Playing limited minutes in his first game back after missing six straight with a sprained ankle, the former FSU star only needed a few seconds to make his presence felt with the massive blocked shot.
“It was fantastic … I came out of the game just saying under my breath, ‘Lord, you are faithful,’ and He really is,” Isaac said with a huge smile. “The block felt great … and TRoss hit the 3, that’s what really set the building on fire.”
Not only was there the big Embiid stop, but on the next Philly possession, Isaac muscled in on the Philly bigs with an aggressively strong defensive rebound, and he had the adrenaline flowing.
“That’s what happens when you get in the game after you’ve been out for a while … as you continue to play you kind of seamlessly just like, ‘I’m in the game now,’ and you’re just there, you’re just ready and your mind is clear and you’re just ready to play,” Isaac said. “In that stretch, that’s what I felt like: just peace and ready to play.”
Isaac has talked about wanting to bulk up and get stronger, and he certainly looked strong in that stretch.
“See, if I had more strength I coulda stopped it in his tracks,” Isaac said.
The block with 7:50 left in the game not only had the crowd fired up, but it led to some electric energy for the Magic, who rallied for their largest fourth-quarter comeback since 1997, and that showed the grit and determination of this squad.
“We did a good job tonight. We shared the ball, we moved the ball around,” said Aaron Gordon, who had an impressive box-score line of 17 points, six rebounds and six assists. “We took advantage of the mismatch. We saw they were putting Wilson Chandler and [Mike] Muscala on Vooch and he was converting almost every time, so he did really well.
“And when the bench came in … how many did we play tonight? Ten guys, so 6 through 10 they turned it around for us. Everybody played really well tonight.”
Vucevic led Orlando with 30 points and eight rebounds, Ross had 15, Jonathon Simmons had 12 and Wes Iwundu found his stroke for 11 points.
Redick was responsible for the Sixers bolting out to their 16-point lead, but the late miscues proved costly. Redick, who said prior to the game that doing well against his former team didn’t necessarily make the accomplishment any more meaningful, had 10 points in the third and finished with a team-high 22, but it wasn’t enough.
The first quarter started off at a torrid pace, with both teams matching each other with precision accuracy. Embiid was the man early for the Sixers, hitting four of his first five floor shots, including three 3-pointers. Philly posted its biggest lead of the first half at 10 points early in the second quarter.
As usual, Orlando wasn’t fazed, and behind hot shooting of its own, pulled ahead 53-52 at halftime thanks to a late trey by Gordon and a nice dish-and-dunk from D.J. Augustin to Vucevic. Augustin ended up with nine assists. The Magic continued to shoot the ball well, popping 50 percent of their floor shots (40 of 80).
