Orlando Magic All-Star big man Nikola Vucevic produced one of the best lines of the evening as he once again led the way for his team in Game 3 of their first round series matchup against the Toronto Raptors.
Vucevic accounted for 22 points (on 7-of-13 shooting), two three-pointers, 14 rebounds, six assists, three blocks, and a steal — which happen to be Shaquille O'Neal-like numbers.
Nikola Vucevic recorded 22 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists last night. The only player in @OrlandoMagic history to match or exceed each of those totals in a single playoff game was Shaquille O'Neal with 26/16/9 on June 7, 1995.
— Justin Kubatko (@jkubatko) April 20, 2019
Shaq is not only arguably the best player to ever dawn the Magic uniform, but is also one of the greatest big men the sport has ever seen. To merely be used in the same sentence as this legendary figure is unquestionably an absolute honor for Vucevic. For the record, O'Neal's averages in four seasons in Orlando read 27.2 points (on 58.1 percent shooting), 12.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.8 steals, and 2.8 blocks.
Nonetheless, the Vucevic's monster performance still fell short for his team, as the Magic lost out to the Raptors in Game 3, 98-93.
Most Improved Player of the Year frontrunner Pascal Siakam played like a man possessed in this one, logging 30 points (on 13-of-20 shooting), three three-pointers, 11 rebounds, and four assists in 42 minutes of play.
With the defeat, the Magic have now lost back-to-back contests against Toronto, with the series advantage now shifting towards the Raptors. Down 2-1 in this best-of-seven series, Orlando will definitely want to win Game 4 at home on Sunday in order to keep this series competitive. A defeat will sink them in a hole that will likely be almost impossible to get out of.
Follow Us
Subscribe