Orlando Magic punch back defensively to show off resiliency

Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley has told everyone he believes in his team’s resiliency. It is one of the traits the team is trying to develop and grow this year.

And to his point, even when the games get out of reach, his teams have fought. They find their center again and they keep playing. Except for perhaps one or two games this season, the Magic have never let themselves lose their effort.

Still, it is hard not to look at the Magic’s schedule this year and not feel frustrated.

Orlando had played only five games that had a final margin within 10 points in its first 14 games. The Magic entering Wednesday’s game had played the fewest “clutch” minutes (the score within five points in the final five minutes) in the league with just four games even qualifying for that moniker.

Orlando competed and played hard. But there was a lack of precision and execution.

Every game, there seemed to be a long stretch within the game where the team’s offense stalls out and sinks the defense with it. Just enough to give the other team a lead Orlando is unable to overcome, forcing the team to chase the game.

While there were plenty of eyes on how the Orlando Magic finished the game — using an 18-6 run in the final 5:45 to finish a 104-98 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night — the biggest signs of growth may have come in the first half.

The Orlando Magic have often struggled to keep their defense focused when they struggle to score. It has hurt them. But Wednesday’s win showed their defense to be a backbone to a win.

With the team’s offense struggling and getting buried under a barrage of turnovers, Orlando’s defense stepped up to hold the ship steady, giving the team runway to find its groove again and climb back into the game.

For one of the first times in a while, the Magic’s defense was leading the way and setting the table for a complete win.

"“We talk about the growth of this team, their ability to understand that shots either go in or they don’t,” Mosley said after Wednesday’s game. “We have to hang our hats on the defensive end of the floor. That’s what they did in the first half. It’s a game of runs. We will continue to say that to these guys so they understand they have to sustain their effort and focus on the defensive side of the floor.”"

In the first half, the Knicks shot 45.2-percent and just 6 for 23 from beyond the arc with a 98.0 offensive rating (they finished at 99.0 for the game). Orlando was not much better, making only 37.3-percent shots and 7 for 21 from beyond the arc.

That is usually a formula for the Magic to trail by double digits despite all their effort.

Against the Washington Wizards, they saw a nine-minute drought bury them in a double-digit deficit they never climbed out of, even if the game never got completely out of reach. Against the Atlanta Hawks, it was a short stretch in the third quarter that helped Atlanta build a lead the team could never challenge.

Orlando was always able to keep it level, but let go of the rope long enough to fall too far behind to make up. Even the team’s fourth quarters are filled with great efforts but deficits too great to come back from.

In every case, the Magic needed a more consistent defensive effort and focus to stay in games. That is ultimately where the team’s strengths will lie.

That is what the team got in Wednesday’s game. The Magic stayed in the game and remained competitive defensively, giving the team a chance to gather itself and start hitting shots to take a lead into the locker room and zoom ahead in the third quarter.

Orlando needed to keep its focus on that end to win.

"“Just sticking together and trusting each other,” Jalen Suggs said after Wednesday’s game. “That’s what we talked about this morning when we had our film. Just believing in each other, making the right play and having the faith that your teammate will knock down the shot and make the right play as well. We withstood their punches and stuck to our game plan. We kept things going. They went on their run and we did as well right after their run. It was a great team win by all the guys and we can start building off this.”"

That is something the team can build off of. Their defense won them the game.

Take the first quarter when the Magic fell behind by six points midway through the quarter. This would have normally been a moment the team would give up the ship and fall too far behind too quickly to stay in the game.

But Orlando got 11 straight stops including five forced turnovers to get back into the game and take the lead before an Obi Toppin putback slam tied the game.

It may not seem like that is a huge moment for a young team — especially with the plays Orlando made later in the game — but this was a turning point. The Magic got some help as the Knicks had some unforced turnovers. But they put the pressure on to force those.

As veterans try to remind the young players, every little moment matters. And this is something the Magic have not done consistently this year.

"“The biggest things are the little things that go into a win,” Mo Bamba said after Wednesday’s win. “Robin [Lopez] was saying this: It’s one box out, one small run, one three, one missed rotation can lead to the bigger picture or giving away a lead or whatever. What contributed to tonight was our response.”"

Young teams struggle with this exact concept.

Understanding how each moment in the game can affect the outcome. And then further understanding that sticking with the game plan and the process the team has put in will help the team right the ship in the long run.

It is easy to let go of the rope and “panic” a bit when the team falls behind. Mosley has been trying to preach how the team needs its defense and to stick with passing the ball in these moments.

But young players especially tend to follow results. And too often the Magic have abandoned these principles to force things offensively when their shots do not fall.

Getting players to understand and execute defense in the face of poor shooting is a much harder task to accomplish. That is what the Magic were able to do early in the game.

And it carried over later in the game when the team got down and defended to win the game. There was suddenly trust they can do it.

Even when the Knicks see-sawed back into the lead and the Magic struggled to slow down their shooting, they calmed down, reset and got the job done. It was their defense — a Terrence Ross steal, a Mo Bamba block, the Jalen Suggs steal — that got the job done and added to the team’s offensive confidence.

"“It’s talking about the growth of these guys,” Mosley said after Wednesday’s game. “Being in these situations to withstand runs and not overreact to situations. They hit us pretty good coming out and we were able to sustain the run and come back and not overreact to the situation.”"

That resiliency has been the focus for much of the year. Even back in the preseason, the team was talking about and thinking about how they would respond to runs. Whether this young Magic team could center themselves and get back to it remains one of the big questions.

This is what felt so rewarding about Wednesday’s win. The team put this particular part of their game together and gave themselves the chance to shine late.

The team knows third quarters have killed this team. These moments where they let go of the rope hurts. They finally buckled down and focused defensively to put the game away.

They finally responded and showed their resiliency.