It required some magic but the Orlando Magic did somehow find a way to lose up eight points with 37 seconds left in the game.
With 37 seconds left in the fourth quarter, all Magic fans were thinking about was the win that they were about to enjoy.
The game, by and large, was not fun in the slightest. Good ol’ JR would have called this one a slobberknocker.
The Magic offense stalled and all of the progress you had seen with the involvement of Channing Frye disappeared. Aaron Gordon looked like he was about to have a huge game but then injured his ankle when he was fouled. Nikola Vucevic could not hit an open jump shot tonight to save his life.
Even with all of those things, Magic fans were going to be able to console themselves with a win. A win puts the Magic at the .500 mark for the month and the possiblity to have their first winning month of a season since Stan Van Gundy left.
Well, as it turns out the Magic fans did not even get that.
Here’s a quick recap of the collapse:
42.0 seconds left: Vucevic makes two free throws to give Orlando an eight-point lead. 99.8 percent chance to win according to inpredictable.com.
37.1 seconds left: Willie Green fouls Mario Chalmers attempting a three-point attempt. Replay shows Green going straight up and Chalmers leaning into him. Chalmers makes two out of three free throws. 83-77 Magic. 99.8% win probability.
36.7 seconds left: Luol Deng fouls Nikola Vucevic. Vucevic makes one of two free throws. 84-77 Magic. 99.6% win probability.
29.6 seconds left: Dwyane Wade makes nine foot floater. 84-79 Magic. 99.5% win probability.
25.1 seconds left: Nikola Vucevic turns the ball over after double team knocks ball lose. Replay shows that Wade fouls Vucevic multiple times while swiping at the ball. 98.4% win probability
22.4 seconds left: Henry Walker makes three point shot. 84-82 Magic. 91.1% win probability.
21.7 seconds left: Mario Chalmers fouls Victor Oladipo. Oladipo makes one out of two. 85-82 Magic. 90.7% win probability.
2.1 seconds left: After the Magic successfully chase Heat shooters off the 3-point line on at least three occasions, Henry Walker makes three-point shot to tie the game at 85. Magic have no timeouts and do not get a shot off, actually turning it over for good measure. 55.5% win probability before inbounds.
From that point on the game went to overtime where the Magic could not pull out the victory. To make the night even worse? Heat fans packed Amway and at their loudest appeared to be louder than Magic fans. It created an electric atmosphere, but the Heat fans left Amway Center happier with more bravado in a state rivalry that seems to bring out the best in the Magic, but ultimately leaves them disappointed.
Game Notes:
- Some decent news, Aaron Gordon appears to have injured the foot/ankle that was not broken. Coach James Borrego did not have an update postgame.
- Down three the Magic did not put Channing Frye in. Isn’t that what he’s paid to do?
- The Magic benched Elfrid Payton on their second to last offensive possession.
- I have no idea why the Magic did not keep running pick and pop with Nikola Vucevic. Hassan Whiteside wanted no part of defending outside of the paint.
- The Magic won the rebounding battle tonight 50-42.
- The Magic had more turnovers than assists tonight 18-17. And Payton had nine of those 17 assists with Oladipo adding four.
Next: Victor Oladipo and Dwyane Wade's friendship and rivalry is fueld by competition