Orlando Magic win (nearly) from start to finish

The Orlando Magic have not had many games where they could relax at the end. Against the reeling Chicago Bulls, they got some much-needed relief.

The Orlando Magic faced a deficit just once in their 102-89 victory over the Chicago Bulls. In eight minutes the lead was up to 10 points and it rarely dipped below that. Never in the second half as the Magic just coasted to a victory.

That is an odd phrase for the Magic, the team that has played in as many close games as any team in the league. A team that has lost a lot of close games and given away plenty of leads. Even with large leads, the Magic have frittered them away.

And so for the Magic essentially to breathe some sigh of relief or see a team throw its bench players in to string out the final moments of a game is new.

At least a feeling the Magic could get used to and grow from.

“We were just being consistent,” Aaron Gordon said. “We really locked down on defense. We bought into the defensive principles today. And we just made the right play all night long.”

That has not always been the case for the Magic. Certainly not lately. There have been few occasions where the team has had that focus for a full 48 minutes.

And, for the most part, the Magic had that focus. They put some of the pieces together.

Chicago shot 38.4 percent from the floor — the first opponent to shoot worse than 40 percent against Orlando since Feb. 7 and just the second time since Jan. 1. The Bulls tallied 36 points in the paint on 18-for-47 shooting. Orlando locked down the glass with an astonishing 91.1 percent defensive rebound rate. Chicago was one shot and out. For the most part the Magic contested shots and rotated well.

This game was about as much as the Magic kicking the Bulls while they are down — and they are down — as it was about the Magic playing good defense.

That is the part that was a bit shaky, but ultimately strong.

Orlando was not particularly fluid throughout the game. The lead hovered around 14 and there were moments the Magic seemed like they would concede that big run. That is when the team finally calmed down and executed differently.

Coach Scott Skiles used his timeouts effectively and stemmed the tide each time. He went back to his starters in these key moments and the lead extended back out.

There are still learning moments for this young team.

“It was good, but we did a couple of similar things,” Skiles said. “When it was like 18 and all of a sudden we stopped moving the ball and started going a little bit one-on-one, and I ton’t think it’s that we think the game is over, I just think it’s almost like we got a little cushion and maybe I’ll go off this time and go one-on-one and try to do something instead of staying with what’s working. So, just something we’ve got to keep battling.”

Skiles said it happened only for three or four possessions and then the team corrected itself. Those three or four possessions probably should not happen this late in the season, he said.

Considering all the Magic have been through this year, perhaps only three or four possessions is enough of a sign of progress to feel good about. The result — a game that had little in the balance in the fourth quarter — certainly was a relief.

There is still plenty to clean up of course. The Magic struggled to shoot the ball and create offense consistently. The Bulls still had a lot of opportunities that they missed — and the Bulls played a very poor game on both ends.

Still Orlando had to take advantage. And not only take advantage, but put its collective foot down.

It may not have been with the complete force it needed, but it was enough. More than enough. Enough for some comfort. And maybe some confidence.

Related Story: Orlando Magic ease past Chicago Bulls

“It’s just good to finally put an entire game together, and I think that’s what we did tonight,” Gordon said. “At halftime, we knew that we played pretty well. We kind of challenged each other to see what we’re made of, it we were going to close this game, and we did.”