The Orlando Magic could not find the energy they needed to break a third-quarter tie and got routed in the fourth quarter against the Brooklyn Nets.
The Orlando Magic had every excuse for their poor performance in a 121-111 loss to the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on Saturday.
The team played a 7:30 game in Boston the night before — that went down to the final buzzer. And then problems with the team plane in the middle of a snow storm did not get the Magic in New York until 3 a.m. That and then the Magic had to turnaround for a 6 p.m. start.
Orlando started the game strong, but could not sustain that momentum. Their movement slowed considerably and they were unable to keep up with a Brooklyn Nets team that always plays with energy, even if the team lacks the overall talent to win consistently.
Like the Magic, the Nets have discovered something to close the season and have built some momentum. Orlando just could not dig deep.
The Magic likely will not use fatigue as an excuse — nor should they. Winning teams find a way to scrounge up some energy when they do not have any and get a win. Brooklyn had all the energy and took it to Orlando.
The Nets, led by a stellar bench that scored 72 points, scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter to break an 89-89 tie and ease by for a 10-point victory at home. The Magic simply could not keep pace. Whether it was fatigue or inability on this day, the Nets had their number.
Brooklyn moved the ball and got open shots, attacking Orlando off the dribble. The Nets shot 53.2 percent from the floor and broke the Magic down time and time again. Orlando could not get much traction defensively.
Offensively, the Magic made shots relatively consistently until the fourth quarter. This has been the story for the team for several weeks now. It hit them again. The team simply cannot rely solely on its offense to win. That is not who this team is. It has never been who this team is.
And in the fourth quarter, the Magic’s overall poor and lagging defense came back to haunt them.