Orlando Magic Blue falls in sudden death overtime to Memphis Grizzlies
The Orlando Magic Blue had another uneven Summer League-like performance. They found their footing to force overtime, but fell in sudden death.
71. 38. Final. 73. 211
The Orlando Magic Blue seemed to have every advantage entering the sudden death overtime period. Aaron Gordon can outleap anybody, after all.
He lost the tip. The Grizzlies got the first possession and got an open 3-pointer for one of their shooters. Gordon flew in and blocked it into the second row of media seating. That seemed to set some kind of tone that he was going to win the game.
Memphis took advantage of their second and third opportunity.
The Grizzlies Jordan Adams missed a shot with shot clock expiring, but Gordon failed to secure the rebound, perhaps assuming the Grizzlies would just give up the possession in sudden death. Jarnell Stokes eked out the board and fed it to Russ Smith, the dominant player of the game. Smith hit a floater to end the game in a 73-71 win over the Grizzlies.
Orlando’s fourth-quarter renaissance after scoring 22 points in the second and third quarters following a 27-point first quarter was for nothing as the offense just could not wake up in time.
| Score | Off. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando (Blue) | 71 | 85.4 | 46.8 | 33.3 | 26.0 | 22.6 |
| Memphis | 73 | 90.9 | 40.9 | 29.4 | 13.3 | 42.4 |
When the Magic were really good, they were really good. When they were really bad, it was Summer League.
“I thought we got better today,” Magic assistant coach Mario Elie said. “Just a fantastic performance for our young group, especially without our two main players — Elfrid [Payton] and Mario [Hezonja]. Aaron [Gordon] was great. I thought [Pyeton] Siva was great. It was a total team effort. As you have a young ball club, this league comes down to small little details — 50/50 balls. I’m so proud of the effort of our guys. We got better today. This is the way the Magic are goign to play basketball — unselfishly, moving the ball from side to side. That’s what coach Skiles stresses — ball movement. And it was fantastic today.”
Many of those little details were missing at the end stages of the game. Orlando gave up a four-point possession to allow Memphis to tie the game on a Russ Smith three with about 20 seconds left. Aaron Gordon missed the ensuing jumper on an air ball to give the Grizzlies the last crack in regulation.
Maurice Walker ended up with the Magic’s last shot in overtime after Siva drove the lane. It was not ideal.
Neither were the middle two quarters as the Magic struggled with turnovers — 24 leading to 27 points for the Grizzlies in total — and fouls — 28 free throw attempts for the Grizzlies. It was typical Summer League sloppiness.
Outside of that though, the Magic continued putting on a strong defensive effort, giving up just 37.9 percent from the floor. The first quarter — and the end of the fourth quarter — saw the Magic get into a good flow offensively with quick ball movement punctuated by another strong game from Aaron Gordon — 22 points and seven rebounds, albeit on 8-for-19 shooting.
Elie was right, when the Magic were moving the ball, they were a great team to watch with their defense on point getting stops and putting pressure on the Grizzlies.
The result though was still not ideal. The Magic built a 17-point lead with Gordon putting on another impressive offensive display. Siva was struggling to score — seven points on 2-for-7 shooting — but dished out seven assists and controlled the pace of the game well and ran the team effectively most of the game.
He established a very solid tempo.
“I’m just trying to go out there and show I can do the little things for a team,” Siva said. “I haven’t been shooting well from the field, but I think I have been doing a good job running the team, playing defense, getting steals and getting everyone involved. That’s what they asked me to do and that’s my job.”
Still, the middle of the game and the very end left a lot to be desired. Gordon himself went up to Elie after the game and took the blame for not getting the rebound.
Gordon had his roughest game of the week while still turning in a solid performance. He had 22 points on 8-for-19 shooting to go with seven rebounds, but committed five fouls and five turnovers.
His ups and downs were indicative of the team’s ups and downs throughout the day.
“It’s a long game,” Gordon said. “It’s going to happen. You’re not going to make every single shot. You’ve got to stick with it. You’ve got to help your team wins in different ways and it’s going to come back around like it did.”
Gordon started doing the things to help his team outside of scoring at the end of the game. He was active blocking shots and locking down his man. The team remained focused (largely) on the defensive end with Siva pressuring the guards (sometimes too much as Russ Smith found a good groove in the middle of the game) and with Jordan Morgan digging out some tough minutes in the post.
The Magic are establishing an identity and slowly getting things going. The results as a team are not quite there. It would be nice to be winning or play consistently throughout the entire game.
Still, the Magic are getting better. Gordon continues to find success on the offensive end and confidently attacking the basket and looking for his own offense. He said he felt the Grizzlies sped him up as he struggled through the game, but he found his pace and his composure.
The Magic will find that too as they establish the base they need to grow in October.