ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Serge Ibaka scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Evan Fournier added 20 points and 10 rebounds to help the Orlando Magic beat the Toronto Raptors 102-94 on Friday night.
It was the second time in less than a week that the struggling Magic have defeated Toronto. And like Sunday's win, this one was close throughout and wasn't decided until the late.
Ibaka made a 13-foot pullup jumper inside late to give the Magic a 95-89 advantage to seal the victory.
Toronto, which played without star guard DeMar DeRozan (ankle), lost for the second straight time and has now dropped seven of its last nine games.
The Magic (20-32) showed a resilience that has always been there this season as they had to hold off several runs by Toronto (30-21) in the fourth quarter. In addition to Ibaka and Fournier, Orlando also got a big effort off the bench from C.J. Watson, who finished with 18 points.
Jonas Valanciunas, Norman Power and Kyle Lowry each had 18 points for the Raptors.
After Toronto cut the lead to one point on a four-point play by Lowry early in the fourth quarter, the Magic used an 8-0 run to stretch the lead to 87-78. Fournier converted a three-point play and Watson knocked down a 3-pointer during the run to re-establish the lead.
Vucevic was the catalyst for the Magic in the third quarter as they fought back from a two-point halftime deficit to lead by as many as 11 points. He scored 14 of his 18 points in the third period while his teammates turned up the defense on the Raptors inside. Toronto, which had been unstoppable in the paint in the first half, scored just four points inside during the third quarter.
But the Raptors did heat up late in third with Fred VanVleet coming off the bench to hit a couple of shots to cut the Magic's lead to 73-66 going into the fourth quarter.
Neither team played particularly well defensively in the first half, but the Magic's lack of interior defense was ultimately the difference in the first two quarters as the Raptors took a 54-52 lead into halftime.
TIP-INS
Raptors: DeRozan did not suit up for Friday's game due to continued problems with his ankle. He has now missed six of the Raptors last seven games because of the injury. ... Patrick Patterson suffered a left knee contusion in the first quarter and did not return.
Magic: Aaron Gordon has been selected to compete in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend. He finished second in the competition last year.
UP NEXT
Raptors: Toronto concludes a three-game road swing with a stop in Brooklyn to play the Nets on Sunday afternoon.
Magic: Orlando sets out a two-game road trip with the first game at Atlanta on Saturday