The Orlando Magic again laid an egg against the Dallas Mavericks, losing by 30 points and getting outworked and outclassed once again.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| Magic | 23 | 12 | 17 | 28 | 80 |
| Mavericks | 29 | 32 | 23 | 28 | 112 |
Things started off so well . . .
That memory seems more like a dream. The energetic play and switching. The Magic attacking the basket and using stops to get out in transition. The Magic made some tough shots, but controlled the tempo and even had Mario Hezonja playing well.
Orlando led 14-7.
If only the game ended there. Because after coming out of that timeout in the first quarter, the Mavericks took the game over with a barrage of 3-pointers — 17 in all and took the lead.
They put the hammer down in the second quarter, holding Orlando to 12 points and scoring 32 points on their own. That gave the Mavericks a 26-point lead at halftime and they kept pouring it on. Dallas led by as much as 37 points in a 112-80 win at American Airlines Center on Saturday.
And there was no fight from Orlando. Coach Frank Vogel said after the game the team failed again to respond when their opponent made a run. It was simply unacceptable.
Yet, this has happened time and again. The Magic took another 30-point loss. A simply embarrassing fact of life for this team. Even with all the veterans and all the high-minded aspiration, the Magic are extremely likely to get blown out .
It is not the margin that is frustrating, but the lack of response and lack of fight to make a run.
When Dallas went on their 3-point barrage in the second quarter, Orlando failed to respond. Instead of trying to work through their offense or work together, the isolations and poor shot selection increased. There is a general lack of trust within the team it seems.
Orlando shot just 39.0 percent from the floor a 3 for 23 from beyond the arc. The Magic never got back into rhythm and never put up a fight after the Mavericks made their initial push.
If there is a reason for the Magic’s failures this season, it is this simple reason.