The Orlando Magic again struggled down the stretch, giving up a late run that buried their chances for a win and had Steve Clifford fuming.
The Orlando Magic found themselves again in a fight. As Terrence Ross hit a 3-pointer to give the team a three-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, the Magic could feel the fight coming. Another chance to prove themselves late in a game.
Perhaps the team took too deep a breath on their way back down the court. Perhaps they were trying to play things too cool. Because Dennis Schroder came right back down the court with little resistance slowing him down and stepped into a 3-pointer to tie the game.
He would keep the attack on the Magic the rest of the game. Orlando’s offense slowing to a crawl as the team struggled to move the ball and get quality shots. A team switching on defense again stymied and frustrated the team down the stretch.
The Oklahoma City Thunder got 18 points from Schroder in the fourth quarter. His 3-pointer helped spark an 18-2 run in the fourth quarter to take the lead and never look back. And the Magic were left looking for answers in a 126-117 defeat at Amway Center on Tuesday.
It was a game that had Steve Clifford calling out his team publicly for poor effort, focus and intensity throughout the game.
He chided them for dropping their heads or celebrating instead of getting back on defense to slow down a Thunder team near the top of the league in pace. He lamented the team’s poor execution and ball movement in the critical fourth quarter. And he lambasted the team’s fouling in the first quarter as the signs of smart players making dumb, losing plays.
Clifford’s early technical foul was an attempt to wake up a team that was already slipping defensively. But the Magic have struggled on defense and with their attention to detail for some time now — especially late in games. And with how small the team’s margin for error is, that just will not get the job done.
Orlando did not get the job done again and lost for the fourth time in a row and seventh time in eight games.
The Orlando Magic return to action Thursday against the Indiana Pacers. The Magic are now five games behind the Charlotte Hornets for the final Playoff spot.