The Orlando Magic could not get the game wrapped up despite plenty of opportunities and the Philadelphia 76ers snuck through the open door to steal a win.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| 76ers | 20 | 35 | 30 | 27 | 112 |
| Magic | 25 | 23 | 36 | 27 | 111 |
The Orlando Magic needed one stop. And fate would not allow them to get it.
After Nikola Vucevic made two fantastic stops on Ersan Ilyasova, including blocking his 3-point attempt with the Magic up one, the Magic deflected the ball into the side of the backboard. The referees called a jump ball. The Sixers won it.
T.J. McConnell tracked it down and drive into C.J. Watson into the empty lane. He hit the floater over Watson with about five seconds remaining. Orlando, without a timeout, could not advance the ball or get a shot.
The Philadelphia 76ers may very well have put a nail in the Magic’s playoff hopes — or any pretending about them — with an 112-111 victory at Amway Center on Thursday.
Despite matchup advantages and a strong first quarter working for them, the Magic still could not get a win. Despite a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, the Magic could not get a win.
“They are a team that plays hard and plays the right way,” coach Frank Vogel said. “I didn’t think we respected the game in the first half. You screw around with the game and karma comes back to bite you in the butt.”
If there is any talk about making the Playoffs coming from this now 20-35 team, the Magic have to turn games like this into wins. Losses in games like this are simply inexcusable.
The Magic took as much as a 15 point lead in the first quarter and had a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter. They had a three-point lead with about a minute to play before giving up an offensive rebound on a free throw to create a one-point game after a few free throws. The Magic and Sixers traded the lead with Nikola Vucevic isolating Nik Stauskas for a hook shot and the lead.
Vucevic got two stops but the Magic could not get that final stop they needed.
Philadelphia took advantage of every Orlando mistake, including that jump ball, beating Orlando in a scramble situation for the win. The Sixers outscored the Magic 23-5 on second chance points. They had 52 points in the paint and converted 21 Magic turnovers into 25 points.
It all led up to another disappointing and frustrating loss for the Magic on their home floor. A game they absolutely needed to win to keep any hope of their Playoff dreams alive.