ALLENTOWN, Pa. — When Maurice Harkless began his rookie season with the Orlando Magic in 2012, some of his teammates called him “Bambi.” He was only 19 years old at the time, with a baby face short on whiskers. And when he played in NBA games, he looked a bit tentative, like a baby deer caught in headlights.
These days, however, Harkless resembles a full-grown buck.
The 21-year-old swingman continued to play with confidence Saturday night and emerged as one of the few Magic bright spots in a 95-84 preseason loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in this non-NBA city.
Harkless scored 14 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out two assists and recorded three steals as he asserted himself more often than he did during his first two seasons.
“There are a couple things that I think I need to clean up, but overall I feel pretty good out there,” Harkless said. “It felt good to be out there playing a lot of minutes. I think the offseason work is translating, but I’ve just got to continue to work.”
Harkless had a chance to shine partly because the Magic were playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
Coach Jacque Vaughn declined to play center Nik Vucevic, forward Tobias Harris, shooting guard Ben Gordon and point guard Luke Ridnour because the quartet had played extensively the night before.
Vaughn employed a starting lineup of Elfrid Payton at point guard, Evan Fournier at shooting guard, Harkless at small forward, Andrew Nicholson at power forward and Dewayne Dedmon at center.
Even in that inexperienced group, Harkless is the second-youngest player.
“I think overall he’s just understanding how the game is going to flow, where he needs to be,” Vaughn said. “There’s some areas that he’s improving, and he still can improve some more. But overall his confidence and feel on the floor has definitely grown.”
Harkless views this season as a crucial one — so crucial that he decommitted from representing Puerto Rico in this past summer’s 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain in order to focus on his individual game.
So far this preseason, he’s shown improvement.
He’s hit his mid-range shots, and he’s also beat defenders off the dribble. Harkless demonstrated his heightened confidence midway through the first quarter Saturday night, driving hard to the hoop and finishing with a right-handed layup off the glass.
Harkless also blocked a pair of shot attempts. On one occasion, he sprinted toward the perimeter as a Sixers shooter launched a 3, and Harkless’ effort sent the ball far off-target.
Midway through the third quarter, Harkless drove along the baseline and had his shot stuffed. But he followed up with an offensive rebound and layup.
Once thin and wiry, Harkless’ 6-foot-9 frame has filled out.
“That extra strength can only help, just being able to finish through bigger guys,” Harkless said. “Just being able to bounce off the floor that quickly, that strong — it shows that I’ve been working.”
Harkless needs to play well this preseason because he plays a position where the competition is fierce. Harris and rookie Aaron Gordon can play small forward, and Victor Oladipo and Willie Green can play shooting guard.
The logjam at both wing spots leaves Harkless fighting a battle for minutes.
Saturday’s game was played in downtown Allentown, at the brand-new PPL Center, an arena built primarily for minor-league hockey. The building was, at most, one-third full.
The fans who stayed away didn’t miss much from the Magic, although Nicholson finished with 23 points on 10-of-19 shooting, and Dedmon and Harkless were energetic.
With 6:35 left in the third quarter, Harkless intercepted a pass at midcourt and finished with a one-handed dunk.
He ran down the court with the grace of a buck.
jbrobbins@tribune.com. Read his blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/magicblog and follow him on Twitter at @JoshuaBRobbins.
