The Orlando Magic struggled to shoot and had difficulty executing down the stretch as they fell in preseason action to the Miami Heat.
The Orlando Magic were going for the win. Their starters stayed in the game as things tightened up at the end of the game against the Miami Heat. It is that time to turn toward the regular season with only eight days to go until the regular season opens.
The team will have to start showing signs it is ready.
A gutsy effort through a poor shooting night that saw the team erase an 18-point deficit was enough to be happy with in some respects. But none of that matters without the finish. Although the team is not likely to make any final judgments off this one preseason game.
Aaron Gordon hit a 3-pointer with about 90 seconds left to give the Magic a one-point lead. It looked like the team was going to have the killer instinct to put it away.
But the Heat did not cooperate, even with the team’s starters out.
Rodney McGruder answered that 3-pointer with a runner to complete his strong game. The Magic could not find their own answer on the other end.
Aaron Gordon missed a 3-pointer at the top of the key after a good ball reversal to find him. D.J. Augustin fell into the rebound and set up an iso for Nikola Vucevic in the post. But he could not find the bottom of the basket with his hook shot.
A missed Tyler Johnson 3-pointer later and the Magic had another chance. But Evan Fournier could not hit his runner, completing a frustrating evening.
Left with one chance and 1.6 seconds to play, Orlando had the chance to inbound for the win. But Nikola Vucevic’s pass sailed over Aaron Gordon’s head as he tried to break free from Bam Adebayo. It ended a frustrating game of missed shots and sometimes shoddy execution.
The Heat defeated the Magic 90-89 at American Airlines Arena on Monday as the regular season starts to draw nearer.
The final result again matters little in the preseason. The team still has time to get itself right and the team is not likely to panic over a stretch of poor execution. The veteran players will know how to get themselves right when this situation comes again.
But there was still plenty for Steve Clifford to pull apart and be concerned with. The sometimes stagnant nature of the offense and the missed shots led to missed assignments in transition. The team still fouled a bit too much. And its execution was hardly clean.
Those are the things that likely will draw Clifford’s eye more than anything else.
But there is that final score and those final 90 seconds that also show the Magic still have a long way to go.
The Orlando Magic return home Wednesday to take on the Memphis Grizzlies in their penultimate preseason game.