Chapter 54 – Third Quarter Pulse

📅 November 15, 2024 – Amway Center, Orlando, FL🆚 Orlando Magic vs. Philadelphia 76ers

The third quarter began with the same question hanging in the air:Could they hold on?

Orlando trailed 52–46. They had clawed back from an ugly start, but no one in the arena knew if it was just a pause in the fall or the beginning of something real.

Zoran checked in to start the third.

First possession — Maxey probed the wing and fired a pass across to Melton in the corner.

Zoran saw it coming.

He darted into the lane, snatched the ball mid-air, and took off. His strides were smooth, balanced. Two dribbles later, he went up with his left and laid it in off the glass before Embiid could contest.

The arena roared.

Not because it was flashy. Because it meant something. Because someone — anyone — had decided to fight back.

They weren't fluid. Not yet. But things began to click.

Suggs started repeating Zoran's defensive calls mid-possession. "Switch high!" "Stay left!" It echoed. It meant someone was listening now.

Franz adjusted his closeouts. Wendell rotated early. Even Paolo — frustrated all game — stopped freelancing and started playing within the system again.

And Zoran? He was calm. Ice cold.

At one point, he caught a kick-out on the wing, pump-faked, took one step left, and nailed a mid-range pull-up over Oubre's closeout.

Two plays later, he called for a drag screen from Wendell, then flared to the top of the arc after the slip-pass failed. Franz recovered the ball, saw Zoran drifting backward, and dished.

Zoran squared up. Fired.

Splash.

Tie game — 59 all.

The Amway Center finally came alive.

On the next defensive possession, Zoran lunged to the floor after a loose rebound slipped through two pairs of hands. He smacked it back to Suggs, who kicked it ahead for an and-one finish by Paolo.

Timeout Philadelphia.

Mosley didn't say much in the huddle. He didn't need to.

Zoran sat on the bench, arms crossed, eyes locked on the floor.

AB patted him on the shoulder. "You see how they look at you now?"

Zoran didn't respond. But the flicker in his eyes said it all.

The lead didn't last long.

A couple of misses — one from Franz in the corner, another wide-open look after a textbook sequence — and Philly crept back ahead.

Zoran had done everything right.

But the shots didn't fall.

On his way to the bench with 1:12 left in the quarter, he yanked the towel off his seat and flung it to the side. Not hard — just sharp. It slapped the ground and skidded.

The camera caught it.

"That's the first real crack we've seen from Vranes," one commentator said."He's not upset at the teammates. He's upset at the waste."

The quarter ended on a missed floater from Melton that bounced around before dropping.

Sixers 75 – Magic 71.

The game was within reach, but the weight was beginning to show — in the crowd, on the bench, and now, even in Zoran.

He sat on the bench, hands clasped tight, elbows on knees.

Suggs leaned in. "We're close."

Zoran didn't nod.

Didn't look up.

But he whispered back:

"Not close enough."