The mistakes keep building for Magic in Atlanta

The Magic held a 12-point lead in the third quarter and had things rolling for themselves. They were moving the ball, attacking well and creating opportunities for the offense. The defense was stifling the Hawks and preventing them from getting into the paint.

The tides can turn quickly.

Paul Millsap started hitting 3-pointers. Atlanta found energy through its defense, trapping Orlando’s ball handlers and forcing the team into tentative and careless turnovers. The tables turned and the Magic had to scramble to get back into the game. Orlando was not going to make any comeback in this one. The stops just were not there.

Jeff Teague provided the dagger with two floaters in the closing stages to put away any hopes for the Magic. The Hawks made their shots in a tight game while the Magic were in one of their cold snaps.

Atlanta continued its win streak with a 86-81 win over Orlando at Philips Arena on Friday night.

The Magic seemed to have moments of hot and cold throughout the game and that would tell the story on how this game went.

The Magic started off hot (as did the Hawks). The second quarter saw Tobias Harris get on a run of scoring. Then it would be Victor Oladipo. Then it would be Evan Fournier. Then Kyle O’Quinn. The Magic could not get them all going efficiently and together.

The Hawks had the poise to get back into the game and use their defense to power them forward. They trapped Oladipo and Elfrid Payton hard on screen and rolls, forcing them into the corner and into an even more difficult pass. Orlando seemed tentative to make a play and unsure where teammates would be.

The Hawks took advantage. They forced 19 turnovers for 18 points and had 12 steals. The pressure defensively forced the Magic to start further from the basket and move away from it. It helped Atlanta kickstart an offense that was struggling itself.

Both teams shot worse than 40 percent for the game. It was a struggle to create any offense. The Hawks though had that last laugh.

Once again, Orlando could not buy a shot in the fourth quarter. The Magic shot just 7 for 21 in the final frame and committed five turnovers. Each one seemed to be a momentum killer as the Magic were trying to keep up with this suddenly energized Hawks team.

It did not help that Atlanta started hitting its shots too. At least relatively and in big moments.

The shot-happy Hawks made just one 3-pointer in the first half, but used the 3-pointer to erase the double-digit deficit in the third quarter and then to seal the game in the fourth. The Hawks made three 3-pointers in the final frame, each seemingly crushing the Magic. One came off an offensive rebound tap out to Kyle Korver as the Magic tried to scramble for the loose ball. That made a three-point game a six-point one.

Just backbreaking stuff at the end of the day.

Orlando could not rely on any type of rhythm offensively to come back. That six-point deficit might as well have been 10.

Such was the struggle Friday night.

The Magic had their moments. Victor Oladipo was solid offensively with 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting. Evan Fournier found his groove in the fourth quarter helping keep the Magic in the game. He finished with 18 points on 8-for-14 shooting. It was tough to find anyone else shooting the ball well. The rest of the team combined to shoot 14 for 51 or 27.2 percent.

It was just tough to find any rhythm. No matter how many times Kyle O’Quinn fought to get a rebound free or dove on the floor or how many times Tobias Harris came free for a mid-range jumper (or got called for a charge trying to drive).

The Magic responded well to Wednesday’s loss. No one could blame that. The Magic just could not execute against this pressure defense and could not make the adjustments or shots to loosen the Hawks up for too long.

The good news is the Magic get their shot at the Hawks again Saturday night at Amway Center. A great chance to learn from mistakes that only seemed to compound as Friday’s game concluded.