NBA 2018-19: 3 Talking points from the Orlando Magic's Win over the Utah Jazz in Mexico

As part of expanding the game’s global fan base, NBA conducts a particular number of regular season games overseas every year. This matchup between the Jazz & Magic was the second in Mexico this season, with the previous one played between the Magic and the Bulls, which the Magic won 97-91.

Orlando Magic rallied from an 11-point deficit to beat the Utah Jazz 96-89 in this one on Saturday and sweep their two-game homestand in Mexico City. Utah entered the game, winning 5 out of their last 8, carrying a schedule that has been the talk of coach’s circles across the league lately.

This was probably the easiest game of Utah's fatal early-season schedule, but they just couldn't pull through for a win. This loss in Mexico City has shoved them down to the 13th spot on the West leaderboard with a 14-16(0.467) win-loss record.

On the other hand, the Magic, who have won two in a row now after losing three straight games, improve to 14-15(0.483) on the season, sitting at the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference.

Let's draw out some key takeaways from this Mexico city game which may have left the fans there with a bitter aftertaste due to the lukewarm quality of basketball.

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#1 Veterans Rudy Gobert & Joe Ingles disappointed while Derrick Favors delivered

Favors is averaging a career-high 2.9 offensive rebounds per game this season.

The Australian could not find his touch throughout the matchup, finishing with just 8 points to his name. Even though Ingles shot a miserable 2-of-11 from the floor in this game, he is still averaging 44% from the field on the season.

Rudy Gobert pulled down 13 boards across the 33 minutes he was on the court, but couldn't contribute much on the scoring end, ending with just 6 points, 2 steals and 2 blocks. He is averaging a career-high 14.3 ppg this season, but unfortunately, that didn't translate to this game against the Jazz, burdening Donovan Mitchell & Derrick Favors with the scoring task.

Don & Favors scored 24 & 21 respectively, shooting a combined 16-37 from the field. The former Georgia Tech center also grabbed 8 rebounds. This was Favors' second 20+ point game in the last 5 Jazz's matchups.

#2 Terrence Ross provided a much-needed spark from the Orlando bench

Terrence Ross scored in double figures for the 22nd time this season

Fournier and Vucevic scored 24 & 15 respectively for Orlando in this game, but it was Terrence Ross's 19 points off 8-of-9 shooting from the field that made the difference in the result. The 6-year veteran is averaging 15.6 points per game across the last ten games, playing almost 28 minutes every game on an average.

The backup shooting guard got the Magic bench out of their seats with a pivotal 3-pointer in the second half. Terrence scored seven points in the fourth quarter helping the Magic seal the deal in Mexico, despite the team committing 22 turnovers, 15 of which came in the first half.

This was Ross's highest score in December(past 6 games), with his season-high total of 28 coming last month in a 110-116 loss to the Warriors.

#3 Orlando Magic shot far better as compared to Utah Jazz

Orlando Magic ranks 10th in the league in 3-pointers made per game.

The Magic, as a unit, took 72 shots from the field and made 34 of them, bringing their field-goal efficiency to an impressive 47.2%. On the other hand, the Jazz shot 28-89 on the night, with their stars in Mitchell and Ingles making just 8-of-21 and 2-of-11 from the floor respectively.

Utah Jazz were equally disappointing from the deep as well, recording a subpar 7-29(24.1%) conversion, with Rubio missing all four of his three-point attempts.

On a night when you have a professional shooter in Kyle Korver making 1-of-7 from beyond the arc, there's nothing much you can expect from the rest of the crew.

For a moment in the fourth period, it looked like the Jazz just might sneak back in, but back to back threes by Aaron Gordon and DJ Augustine proved to be the last couple of nails in the coffin.