The Orlando Magic once again had a chance to win, but failed to execute late and squandered the opportunity to win against the Milwaukee Bucks.
It was a tie game with 2:18 left in the game after Tobias Harris faked a hand off to Channing Frye and drove the lane for a layup. Maybe it was the play that led to that which should have previewed the final two minutes of the game.
Elfrid Payton was running a pick and roll with Nikola Vucevic and drove toward the wing, where a trap was waiting for him. The Magic had dealt with this well all night with quick ball movement and decisive play. But that has been the problem late in games. The Magic are indecisive and that focus that helps them build leads late in games.
Things tighten up and execution wanes.
James Borrego got this one play (and one more which got Harris a nice 3-point look when it was a bit too late), but the team largely struggled to finish the deal.
The Bucks scored the final six points of the game as Victor Oladipo took a 3-pointer with 1:31 left and a lot of time left on the shot clock and Tobias Harris missed a layup with the Bucks defense collapsing around him.
Elfrid Payton did a good job defensively on Khris Middleton, who scored 30 points, and forced a miss. But Zaza Pachulia tipped the rebound out and gave the Bucks a second possession. He took advantage of that as Michael Carter-Williams fed him the ball driving the lane and he dished it to Giannis Antetokounmpo driving to the basket for a dunk.
Sir Charles In Charge
That was more or less game over as the Bucks won 97-91, taking the win from a lively and game Magic team at BMO Harris Bradley Center on Wednesday.
Orlando could say they let one slip away as they went cold at several key moments in this game.
The Magic had as much as an eight-point lead in the third quarter. But quickly gave that eight-point lead up in the final moments as the Bucks upped their defensive intensity and turned to Middleton for some killer shots.
Orlando got caught committing turnovers and struggled to find an offensive flow. This is the problem the team runs into sometimes.
What made things worse was Orlando did a good job attacking the basket and just could not get rewarded for it. After nine free throw attempts in the first half, the Magic had just four in the second half. The Magic were 16 for 49 in the paint including 5 for 25 in the second half.
There were some questionable no calls here as the Magic aggressively attacked the paint, but the Magic also failed to play through these. They stopped to complain while the Bucks went back to the other end.
The frustration continued to mount and mount as the beautiful ball movement and patient attack of the first half gave way to sloppiness in the second. Orlando scored 57 points in the first half, but had only 34 in the second. Not to mention failing to put away the game by finishing the third quarter.
Finishing continues to be an issue this Magic team has.
Orlando had the effort and energy to win the game. They did just about everything else right.
Even with the team struggling on defense to get stops, players remained active and forced turnovers — 23 of them to be exact. The Bucks poor ball protection ended up keeping the Magic in the game.
But Milwaukee’s length ultimately slowed the Magic offense down. The six 3-pointers they made in the first half were gone in the second — 1 for 1 in the third quarter and 3 for 8 in the fourth. And that kept the offense afloat.
So despite Nikola Vucevic turning in a 20-point game. And Elfrid Payton attacking the paint aggressively. It just was not enough.
It came down to the team needing to make these plays when the game got tight with a chance to win. Orlando fell once again. There was some sugarcoating of it and the team did not turn the ball over — they at least got the shots up this time — but the result remains the same.
Until next time.