The Orlando Magic fell short against the Sacramento Kings on the road, failing to execute down the stretch and giving up one too many open 3-pointers.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| Magic | 23 | 35 | 26 | 31 | 115 |
| Kings | 24 | 34 | 35 | 27 | 120 |
The Orlando Magic were rallying to get back into the game. Trailing by 10, the team had evened the score and fought its way back.
There was a moment to exhale. And that was all the moment the Sacramento Kings would need to retake control. The Magic were caught trying to catch up again and could not muster the execution to get all the way back.
Down by two points, the Magic missed two shots in transition. The team was good getting up and down the floor, but was moving too quickly and took rushed shots. Sacramento came right back at Orlando.
Aaron Gordon turned his head for a brief moment and Anthony Tolliver beat him backdoor. Tolliver dunked it for a four-point lead and a more comfortable lead.
After Gordon hit his second 3-pointer, Tolliver answered with a three of his own to send the lead back to four points. the Magic continued their poor execution, forcing a 3-pointer from Evan Fournier with about 40 seconds left on an after timeout play.
Orlando was forced to play the foul game, eventually falling to Sacramento 120-115 at Golden1 Center on Monday.
The Magic were sloppy throughout the game, committing 13 turnovers for 18 Kings points. They seemed to come at inopportune times. Three turnovers to start the third quarter put the Magic behind the 8-ball from the very beginning of the second half.
Putting them even further behind was the Kings hot shooting. Sacramento made 16 of 30 3-pointers, including five from Tolliver. Ben McLemore hit three 3-pointers to keep the Kings on pace.
Orlando kept pace. The team had to with the defense struggling so much.
The Magic trailed by as much as 10 points in the fourth quarter. The team had to focus and lock into place to make a comeback. With the Kings missing four players to rest and injury, the Magic were able to do so.
Nikola Vucevic dominated the inside and scored. Elfrid Payton recorded his third triple double this season and worked hard to get into the paint and create for others. Evan Fournier too got hot to keep the Magic in the game.
It all came up short. Orlando could not get stops. Not consistently. And, ultimately, that is where the Magic lost.