ORLANDO — Melvin Hunt put his finger to his lips when someone noted Ty Lawson’s numbers have been slightly down since the calendar turned to March.
“Shh. Don’t tell Ty his numbers are down because he’s playing some of the best basketball I’ve seen him play in my five years (here),” Hunt said.
The noticeable dropoff has come in his scoring, where he went from a 16.5 points per game average through the end of February to just 11.7 through March 21. He’s also slightly down in assists (9.8 per game before, 9.5 now) and steals (1.3 to 1.1).
“I’m not going to get lost in the distraction of his numbers. I’m getting lost in his leadership,” Hunt said. “I’m counting the number of times he points to a guy and tells him to get in the corner. I’m counting the number of times when he’s on someone for not running. … I played the position, and if you’re a point guard that’s what you do. The numbers will find themselves.”
Similar situations Sunday night marked the NBA’s first meeting this season of two interim coaches, with James Borrego seeing the Magic through the past 6 ½ weeks since Jacque Vaughn was dismissed Feb. 5.
“My kindred brother,” Hunt said before tipoff. “It’s a tough situation to be in, but we’re both big boys. We’re both embracing it.”
The Magic won four of their first six under Borrego, but have since endured four- and six-game losing streaks. Hunt said the two spent some time together last week in Houston; the Nuggets arrived on the same night Orlando lost to the Rockets.
“He looks stoic and all that,” Hunt said of Borrego, “but you can tell that dude’s pouring everything into it. They’re starting to take on the identity I think he wants.”
Unlike the Nuggets, the Magic appear set on their long-term core, with a backcourt of rookie Elfrid Payton and second-year Victor Oladipo emerging to complement big man Nikola Vucevic.
Lineup changes Randy Foye was not part of Sunday’s starting lineup, with Hunt saying he was “a little under the weather.”
Jusuf Nurkic made his second consecutive start, with Hunt opting for a big lineup to counter the Magic. Kenneth Faried shifted over to forward, with Danilo Gallinari moving to the backcourt with Lawson.
