The Orlando Magic held a double-digit fourth-quarter lead only to see an old enemy tear it down and end the Orlando Magic’s five-game win streak.
The Orlando Magic saw their win streak come crashing down like Victor Oladipo did when he banged knees with Jamal Crawford late int he fourth quarter.
Their 11-point lead was disappearing fast. Orlando had stemmed the Los Angeles Clippers’ first run. Another one was coming. And with Jamal Crawford the team was never too far gone.
And then Oladipo, the engine of the Magic coming from behind to build a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, had banged knees and was out. From the point, Oladipo left the game, the Clippers went on a 10-0 run.
Yes, Crawford was the one who gave the Clippers the lead for good with a 3-pointer. The Magic were scrambling to find that energy they had lost. The Clippers had them staggering back.
Orlando’s last gasp came with Oladipo back in the game. He came across a pick and roll where Austin Rivers tripped over Nikola Vucevic‘s screen. Oladipo took the quasi-open jumper and it fell no good. A last ditch free throw miss down three points from Elfrid Payton rolled out of bounds and the Los Angeles Clippers held on for a 103-101 win at Staples Center on Saturday, ending the Magic’s five-game win streak.
| Score | Off. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando | 101 | 104.2 | 47.8 | 30.0 | 14.4 | 20.0 |
| L.A. Clippers | 103 | 106.2 | 52.4 | 21.7 | 14.4 | 30.5 |
Victor Oladipo (ORL) — 24 pts.; Elfrid Payton (ORL) — 21 pts., 8 assts.
Jamal Crawford (LAC) — 32 pts.; Blake Griffin (LAC) — 28 pts., 13 rebs.
All good things indeed come to an end.
The Magic were inconsistent for sure. Defensively, they were short on closeouts — Wesley Matthews and Jamal Crawford combined to make 12 of 21 3-pointers, the other Clippers missed their other 10 — and they were slow on some rotations.
Orlando did not have the precision on either end throughout the game except for brief moments. They seemed to come together throughout the game.
The end was certainly not precise.
Orlando’s defense got caught swarming the ball too much and overhelping, leaving holes for Crawford and Blake Griffin to exploit. Crawford scored 32 points and Griffin had 28 points.
The defensive imprecision came as the offense was collapsing too. The Magic were settling for jumpers and quick shots in one-on-one situations rather than the ball movement and drive-and-kick game that had built the lead.
As Scott Skiles described it, it was bad possession after bad possession when the Magic could not afford it. And it came on both ends.
What was most disappointing was how good the Magic had played in taking a 10-point lead and taking control of the game. That elusive sixth consecutive win was within the team’s grasp.
Orlando got out in transition with Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton aggressively attacking the basket and pushing the pace. Oladipo scored 24 points with seven rebounds and five assists. Payton scored 21 points to go with eight ssists.
They led the way defensively, locking down both Crawford and Austin Rivers. The Clippers’ carefully built lead on those Johnson 3-pointers was gone as the Magic attacked and brought the energy that would be lacking later.
This was not a question of effort, but more a question of precision. When the Magic had it, they were clearly the better team and looked every bit the team that could realize their potential and make the Playoffs.
When it was not there, it was the frustrating team that loses leads and does not always have “it.” The team has not quite found its consistency. That is not to be completely unexpected this early in the season.
Still, the Magic did plenty of good things.
Their backcourt tandem of Oladipo and Payton did whatever they wanted, dictating play on both ends. When the Magic were locked in for that brief moment, they were fantastic. Every bit the team Skiles imagined them. The team that could easily win all these games.
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It is not all there yet. The Clippers pushed and came back at them. They found confidence. They had a superstar make plays and the momentum and tide changed.
Orlando’s momentum was disrupted and the team could not get it back. It has done well to recover from these moments so far this season. There is still some old tendencies that remain. They are not all gone.
But they are becoming less and less. Just not completely away.
Orlando squandered a game, something teams in their position still may do. They had the momentum and let it get away. Orlando still struggled to keep its grasp on the game.
One thing — the Oladipo injury — may have tipped the scales. But so too did the poor execution late. On both ends. The team is still getting things down.
There is plenty to clean up. The hope is a team can learn these lessons in wins. But sometimes, the bareness of a loss reveals them too.