The Orlando Magic gave up a 24-0 run in the third quarter and could not catch back up to the Denver Nuggets and their dynamic star duo.
The wave overcame the Orlando Magic fairly suddenly. They seemed to have whiplash as they tried desperately to come back.
They tried to attack the basket and get shots in the paint and they would not fall. The free-flowing nature of the team that helped build a 15-point halftime lead and a 19-point lead in the third quarter. The Orlando Magic were moving and getting out in transition while stifling the Denver Nuggets’ potent defense.
When the 24-0 run started that would bury the Magic and force them to try to rally back into the game, it just kept getting worse and worse for the team. Layups would not fall and the Nuggets would run it right back, finding gaps and hitting the same shots the Magic were missing.
Denver crowded Orlando and rushed ahead. The Magic had to scramble back in the fourth quarter after trailing by eight points.
Orlando indeed cut the lead to two points even after that devastating run. The Magic had their chance to tie it. Markelle Fultz weaved his way into the lane and missed the shot.
From there Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray took over. Nikola Jokic again hit a wrong-footed fadeaway shot over Nikola Vucevic to bury the Magic’s chances for a win and Jamal Murray did the west. Evan Fournier and Nikola Vucevic again could not hit shots down the stretch as the Nuggets completed their comeback for a 113-104 win at Pepsi Center on Wednesday.
Orlando again seemed to put so many of the pieces together that they needed. Their first-half play was superb and about as good as they have played against elite teams on both ends. The Magic showed they had that capability in them.
Everyone knew the altitude and fatigue of a back to back would get to them. This still had schedule loss written all over it and the Magic seemed prepare to fight through that. But they had no answer when it finally hit and all their shots started falling no good.
Frustration only built and the Magic struggled to deal with the growing pressure the Nuggets put on them as their confidence grew.
Orlando missed shots and never could get themselves all the way back.
It was another game left on the board.
The Orlando Magic are 12-16 and eighth in the Eastern Conference. They wrap up their road trip Friday against the Portland Trail Blazers.