The Magic held the lead for most of the game. The offense was humming along. Shots were falling from beyond the arc. Different players took their turns playing aggressor and everything worked well.
This was an Orlando team that could beat anyone — including East-leading Toronto. There are going to be nights like that with a young roster.
And then there are going to be nights that remind you of how long the team still has to go. Sometimes those nights happen at the same time.
Tuesday was that kind of night with the Magic conceding an 11-0 run at the beginning of the fourth quarter to get stuck in a difficult up-and-down matchup with one of the Eastern Conference’s best teams. Orlando stood toe-to-toe but could not execute, losing the game 104-100 on a missed Tobias Harris jumper with two seconds left.
| Score | Off. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
| Orlando | 100 | 101.0 | 55.6 | 14.6 | 17.2 | 19.8 |
| Toronto | 104 | 107.0 | 51.3 | 13.2 | 12.3 | 39.0 |
Learning to finish
There are definitely some issues in losing a double-digit fourth quarter lead. That is never a good look. And it was a painful learning lesson for a young Magic team.
Orlando entered the fourth quarter with an 11-point lead as the teams’ second units came out to battle. By the 9:50 mark of the fourth quarter, the game was tied. This came in a blue with the Raptors’ second unit getting two big 3-pointers from Patrick Patterson and another big one from Lou Williams.
The Magic had a largely veteran squad out on the floor for this period with Luke Ridnour, Ben Gordon, Aaron Gordon, Channing Frye and Maurice Harkless. So this was a case of a more energetic and experienced second unit from Toronto beating a somewhat mismatched and, frankly, offensively wanting Orlando second unit.
This was a game from that point forward.
In games against Philadelphia and Minnesota, Orlando finished the job getting the win or forcing overtime. Against Brooklyn, the Nets used their experience to outpace the Magic.
Late in this one, Orlando again succumbed to fouling, giving up free throws to DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry to give Toronto the lead. Tobias Harris made a big shot to keep it close. His look at the end fell no good.
So, at the end of the day, it was not necessarily execution that lost the game. It was a defense still struggling to put together a complete 48-minute effort. They came awfully close in this one. The Magic will have to continue harping on and improving their defense to take that next step.
There are certainly still questions that need to be asked of Jacque Vaughn too.
Luke Ridnour played all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter. He failed to score on two field goal attempts, committed three fouls and dished out two assists. Lou Williams had eight points and Kyle Lowry four with the two combining for two assists in the fourth quarter. It was certainly an odd matchup decision (one that has drawn fans’ ire after the loss). Payton had two points and three assists in this game. It was not like Payton was any more effective.
The Magic shot just 35.0 percent in the fourth quarter after a blistering 52.5 percent to that point. The drop in offense gave Toronto the chance to come back and it became about execution from there. The Raptors did that part one play better. The Magic let it slip away.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThPyOPdElDo
Offense is starting to hum
But as noted, the Magic did shoot 52.5 percent from the floor entering the third quarter and ended up shooting 48.1 for the game. The offense was really flowing and the team was using multiple pick and rolls and ball movement to get guys open.
Orlando is proving to be a better shooting team too than we all thought.
It started with Channing Frye scoring 16 of his 19 points in the first half. The Raptors lost Frye a few times in pick and rolls or ball reversals and that is a mistake when dealing with Frye. He will step up and hit those shots. Pretty much in his sleep.
Frye got things going, but Evan Fournier and Tobias Harris kept things going. It seemed like Orlando was taking turns feeding the hot hand and getting out in transition. The Magic forced steals. This was how we can assume the Magic want the offense to run.
Fournier finished with 24 points, netting four 3-pointers. Harris had 23 points to go with 13 rebounds and five assists. This was a solid offensive effort.
The Magic tallied 26 assists with Nikola Vucevic and Luke Ridnour each tallying six. So maybe Ridnour was helping move the ball more than Payton. Just trying to defend that decision (if there is one). That would be a justification.
Except for the stretch early in the fourth quarter, the Magic were able to execute their offense well. What was clearly important was having a player on the floor who can create consistently for himself — whether that is Harris, Fournier or Vucevic. In that fourth quarter, none of those three were on the floor and that spelled trouble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcEM8w9FCqc
Free throw problems
The Magic have had some recurring problems with free throws throughout the season.
At the beginning of the game, it was not the Magic’s fouling that was the problem, but their free throws. The Magic left points on the board, missing six of 16 free throws. Five of those came in the first five attempts for the Magic. Those always come back to haunt you. They did tonight.
Toronto then got themselves to the line. The Raptors made 25 of 30 free throws for the game. Twelve of those attempts came in the final quarter. That is nearly half.
The Magic stopped defending with discipline and as the Raptors gained momentum and energy, they got to the line more.
Orlando is still learning to defend without fouling and to stay disciplined and focused for a 48-minute game. That part is not easy. Not in the least.
In two straight games against Toronto, Orlando has learned how much fouling can hurt and cost the team a game. These are momentum killers and the Raptors are experts at drawing them.