The Orlando Magic have dealt with everything in the last few weeks.
A 10-game losing streak can bring any team down and fracture any group, as positive as they might try to be. The especially brutal way in which Orlando has lost its last six — all by single digits and all with close games in the fourth quarter — could be especially discouraging to a young team.
Coach Jamahl Mosley kept preaching that the team was experiencing and seeing situations for the first time and learning and absorbing these lessons. The team was putting themselves in this position. They just needed to get that break through.
It was never going to happen on its own. The Magic would need to make a stand.
Presented with the opportunity again to play a tight game entering the fourth quarter, Orlando needed to respond. The Magic needed to respond differently.
The Orlando Magic needed to make a stand and end their 10-game losing streak. Against the Charlotte Hornets, the team finally took control of their game.
Orlando had seen this script too many times before. The team knew it had to be the ones to make a change and take control.
"“We’ve seen that movie beore,” Moritz Wagner said after Friday’s game. “We’ve been in close games a lot recently and kind of lost our cool a little bit. especially our focus defensively. You are going to miss shots. But if you stick to basics with the game plan, te game has a tendency to come back to you.“Recently, we have seen that a lot. We kind of lost our cool. I think everyone is willing to make that jump and put some effort in and at a cerain point, you have to make that jump consciously and keep playing and keep playing smar tna dkeep playing the right way and not lose your cool.”"
At long last, they did.
Taking charge in the fourth quarter to take the lead and holding on to the lead with some timely shotmaking, but perhaps more importantly with some killer defense with the Charlotte Hornets desperately trying to shoot their way back into the game.
The Magic’s 10-game losing streak is over thanks to a 116-109 victory at Spectrum Center on Friday night. After a week of coming so close, the Magic finally got over the hump.
How they did it was unlike many of their victories, relying on their bench group to spark the team’s fire as Cole Anthony (eight points, 2-for-8 shooting) and Terrence Ross (10 points, 4-for-11 shooting) did not provide their usual offensive production.
Instead it was the Wagner brothers — Franz with 19 points, six rebounds and seven assists and Moritz with 26 points and 4-for-8 shooting from deep — spearheading the team’s scoring. Really it was the ball movement to find those open shooters and the aggression to keep attacking.
There was a 15-2 run to open the fourth quarter that was spearheaded behind Jalen Suggs’ returning energy and defensive disruption along with R.J. Hampton chasing after his matchup. The Hornets’ prolific offense was grounded as the Magic asserted themselves.
Still, no lead is safe in Charlotte. And a 10-point lead got shrunk to four on back-to-back 3-pointers. The Magic needed to have the poise and resolve to close out.
Orlando scored the next six with the Wagner brothers connecting on three straight shots — Franz finding Moritz as the defense tried to trap him above the 3-point line and then Franz hitting two layups, the second on a pass from his brother.
The Magic put the game away as Mosley stuck with a bench lineup that was working and rode it before the starters put the game away. That is how things are supposed to work.
And the Magic never let the ups and downs of the game get them down. Especially in the fourth quarter like it had for much of the past two weeks.
"“I think those guys did a good job being poised,” Mosley said after Friday’s game. “Understanding that it was on the defensive end that we were going to have to get it done, holding them to 18 poins in the fourt hquarter and learning how to execute down the stertch. I think they did a good job learning from what we had been through. Those are the situations we talked about and they executed down the stretch.”"
Orlando needed to flip this typical script to get out of this 10-game losing streak. It was less about a lineup change and more about breaking this pattern that was keeping them from winning and doing so consistently.
Mosley said the team did a better job executing late. They did the things that got them into the lead late in the game instead fo trying to force play or taking rushed shots.
More importantly, the Magic got down and defended, using their defense to key the offense. Even when good looks missed this time, the Magic were able to get the stop they needed to keep momentum and apply pressure on their opponent.
Orlando had a 100.9 defensive rating, an impressive mark against the second-best offense in the league. The Magic gave up just 18 points in the fourth quarter.
"“I think over the whole game, I think our intensity was really good,” Franz Wagner said after Friday’s game. “Our energy ond defense [was really good]. It was really important that guys like Moe and especially Jalen. For his first game it was really impressive to come in like that and bring that type of energy and effort to the game and affect the game in multiple ways.”"
The Magic have been preaching defense all year and have struggled on that end. But slowly things seem to be coming around. The Magic certainly won this game because of their defense.
Everyone played a part in the win. Suggs’ return certainly provided some emotional boost. But the Magic very rarely lost their poise and handled the Hornets’ desire to speed everything up well. The Magic were not always in control, they took their punches and their frustration. But the team quickly bounced back.
Someone always came up with a big play to stem the tide or build momentum.
Orlando needed that lift. That is what a bench group is supposed to do. It is what the Magic needed to get over the hump and finally get that needed win.
"“We had a string of games there where we were so close and came out on the other end with a loss,” Suggs said after Friday’s win. “They could have very easily been flipped the other way. This one we came out and played solid for all 48. To come out with the vcitory, we can build on this. We can learn form the mistakes we made, especially defensively. Overall, it’s great moral in the locker room.”"
Those lessons finally sunk in. And Orlando got the win the team desperately needed.