The Orlando Magic were lackluster in the third quarter especially and needed a big fourth quarter rally for a chance, digging themselves too deep a hole.
The Orlando Magic had scratched and clawed their way back into a game they had no business being in.
Tobias Harris had scored seven points to kickstart a 10-0 run to tie the game and all of a sudden the Magic were scrambling on defense and digging out steals and contesting shots. The Magic’s lethargic play was gone in a flash and the team that seemed like world beaters had returned.
The poor play of the first three quarters though proved to be too much. This would be a close game to the end, with all the attendant randomness and variability that comes with it.
The Suns would not stay asleep forever and the Magic were still capable of making mistakes.
Eric Bledsoe broke a tie late in the game with a difficult layup over the Magic defenders. Orlando, needing two points with about 25 seconds left, inbounded the ball to the reliable Elfrid Payton. Only Payton was not reliable at this point.
He lost the ball without any pressure in the backcourt. A careless turnover at the worst time.
The Magic got lucky when Eric Bledsoe split his free throws and nearly missed the rebound. Orlando did get the board after it was knocked out of bounds and got a clean look for Victor Oladipo with three seconds left. He missed, but the Magic were able to retain possession when Devin Booker knocked the ball out of bounds.
Evan Fournier got the ball and tried to draw a foul on Alex Len as he shot his game-tying 3-pointer. It fell no good and the Magic lost their road trip finale 107-104 to the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Wednesday.
| Score | Off. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando | 104 | 100.9 | 54.1 | 13.2 | 15.5 | 18.8 |
| Phoenix | 107 | 108.2 | 55.0 | 28.9 | 18.2 | 33.8 |
Nikola Vucevic (ORL) — 21 pts., 11 rebs.; Tobias Harris (ORL) — 16 pts.
Brandon Knight (PHX) — 21 pts.; Alex Len (PHO) — 20 pts., 14 rebs.
A quarter of good basketball simply would not be enough.
The Magic gave up 51.3 percent shooting and 21 points each to Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe. The Suns were first to just about every loose ball and took the game to the Magic, particularly in the third quarter when they shot 13 of 19 and grabbed four of those six misses as offensive rebounds.
Even when Orlando had its offense rolling, Phoenix was going right back at the team. The Magic were unable to get stops consistently for much of the first three quarters and certainly in the third quarter itself. Knight and Bledsoe after struggling through the first half, tore up the Magic’s defense.
This was uncharacteristic of Orlando. This is a team that has built itself and cut its teeth on defense.
That team did not show up on this last leg of the road trip though. The Magic were constantly out of position or unable to stop dribble penetration. Even with the guards getting steals and dig out some balls, the back line defense was not able to make the guards make that next pass or slow down their attack.
It put the Magic in a hole in the third quarter, largely of their own doing.
In addition to the poor defense, Orlando committed seven of its 16 turnovers in the third quarter alone. There were opportunities missed on a night where the Magic made 12 of 25 3-pointers and generally got good shots when they moved the ball well.
Elfrid Payton attacked extremely well and was pesky defensively in grabbing five steals. Evan Fournier and Victor Oladipo too were opportunistic. The offensive execution on the other end was simply at times sloppy.
The Magic were far from crisp and it did not extend only to the defensive end of the floor.
Despite it all, Orlando got it all back. Down by 11 early in the fourth quarter, the Magic made three straight 3-pointers to close the deficit to two. In a blink, the Magic had erased a disastrous quarter and made it a game.
And Phoenix took it all back to go back up 10.
That is when Tobias Harris took over, scoring seven of 10 points in a 10-0 run to tie the game at 102 with two minutes to play. Even with all the problems the Magic had throughout this game, they still gave themselves a chance to win it.
Ultimately though, the missed opportunities are what they will rue more. The Magic made a run and nearly made up for a lackluster effort, just as they had against the Nuggets the night before. But that is not how a team consistently wins in the NBA.
Orlando continues to have lessons to learn. The team continues to find pockets where it does not play up to its new standard.
Next: Which Orlando Magic player has improved the most at the quarter pole?
And sometimes the lessons have to be learned in losses. It is going to take a lot more — even on the last night of a road trip — to get wins.