The Orlando Magic dug themselves a deep hole early and were fighting to get back. Even after forcing overtime, they were still unable to get over the hump.
The Orlando Magic were always climbing uphill against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday. Every time they seemed close to scaling it they would rush a shot, fail to execute or make some kind of mistake to halt momentum.
Toronto could not completely pull away, not until the final buzzer.
Victor Oladipo was driving and shooting to keep the Magic alive again and again. The defense awoke in the second half after a lackluster first half and brought the Magic back.
It comes down to little plays though. It comes down to those stretches of inconsistency. The Magic fought valiantly again, but they were always fighting that uphill battle.
Victor Oladipo missed an open 3-pointer off of great ball movement short with his team down three points in overtime. The Magic survived with Oladipo draining a three on the next possession.
Then with the Magic down by two points and about seven seconds left, he drove left and had a clear path to the basket. He prepared to go up and had the ball poked away from behind as he gathered himself for the layup.
The Raptors would escape with a 106-103 overtime win over the Magic at O2 Arena in London on Thursday, escaping the Magic’s numerous comeback attempts.
| Score | Off. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | 106 | 101.3 | 45.6 | 21.6 | 11.5 | 34.4 |
| Orlando | 103 | 93.2 | 50.0 | 14.3 | 14.5 | 8.2 |
Kyle Lowry (TOR) — 24 pts.; DeMar DeRozan (TOR) — 13 pts., 11 rebs.
Victor Oladipo (ORL) — 27 pts.; Nikola Vucevic (ORL) — 17 pts., 11 rebs.
The hill proved to be too large to climb.
The Magic played a stellar second half, holding the Raptors to just 35 points and working in sync defensively. Victor Oladipo began looking like the player he was at the end of last season as he continues his torrid play. Evan Fournier shook off first-half foul trouble to score on numerous occasions, mixing in his shooting with driving ability.
Things started rolling the right way for the Magic. But every time they tried to cut into the Raptors 14-point lead or came close, the Raptors seemed to have an answer. Or the Magic would seem to press.
Orlando never led after the first quarter and that was the source for many of the team’s problems throughout this game. The Magic were always digging out of that hole.
Things started off sloppily for the Magic with six turnovers in the first quarter. But worse than that, Orlando was slow defensively. Toronto was parading through the lane and getting to the foul line with ease.
The Raptors made 24 of 31 free throws and built up their lead on the strength of a 16-0 run to end the first quarter. Orlando gave up 61 points in the first half and the team was just trying to keep up.
Jason Smith helped with that in scoring most of his 16 points in the second quarter. He made seven of his eight shots in the quarter.
Oladipo came alive with 27 points, six rebounds and six assists, making 10 of his 20 field goals in the game. He was the team leader down the stretch, continually making plays to help the team at least tie the game.
But it was always that climb.
In overtime, the Magic were tied and quickly fell behind by four points. Cory Jospeh picked Evan Fournier’s pocket and got a runout dunk to put the Raptors up four points. The Magic were climbing uphill again.
Orlando just never had control. It was always a fight.
To the Magic’s credit, they were game. They continually fought back. They played incredible defense in the second half and made stop after critical stop.
The effort and help that was missing in the first half was present throughout the second half. Players rotated and switched with precision the team has not seen consistently since the beginning of the season. The Raptors’ starts Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan combined to shoot 9 for 39. That will be something to grow and continue on with.
But so too will the poor decisions late. The Magic had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation but Oladipo opted to pull up for three rather than drive to the rim (even recklessly).
There was just a ton of inconsistency throughout the game, a problem that has plagued the Magic for some time now.
The team needed more from the start and losing the first quarter the way it did just put the Magic too far into the hole.
Next: London game is an opportunity for NBA and teams
At some point the Magic will have to dictate tempo and dictate their play. When they do that, it is more likely they will win. Until then, they will be climbing and looking for the crest to that hill.