The Orlando Magic lost a 14-point lead from the first quarter.
Their hot three-point shooting had run out. They had broken their lineup. The mistakes that had plagued them in a 2-7 start were creeping in.
Bad teams leave the door open. And the Magic are still struggling to overcome those frustrating habits.
The Sacramento Kings burned off a 20-1 run in the first and second quarters to take a five-point lead. Orlando's first-quarter hard work disappeared quickly. The Magic would need to respond.
A game of runs and all that.
The Magic did not flinch as they might have in previous defeats. They responded the way they wanted.
They expanded their lead back to nine points later in the second quarter. They did it without the 3-point shot. They did it behind Franz Wagner attacking the paint. They did it behind a defense that forced turnovers and made shots difficult, minus a few lapses.
They did it the way they know they will have to: With grit and determination. They played ugly and won.
Orlando should not hang a banner after a 107-100 win over Sacramento. This Kings team is 1-10 and not particularly good. They gave the Magic plenty of leeway to make mistakes and figure themselves out.
Still, it took a certain amount of grit to find a way to win this game and keep the Kings at arm's length. Especially with the Magic making 5-for-6 from three in a blazing first quarter, and then 5-for-31 for the rest of the game.
It took the defense forcing 21 turnovers for 33 points, feasting on the Kings' copious mistakes. It took dominating the paint 58-28, repelling every drive the Kings made and making them feel their physicality in a grimy game.
It took Wagner's masterful 33-point, 7-rebound, 7-assist effort, making 11-for-23 from the floor and all 10 free throws to pace the Magic through a sometimes uneven game becuase of the team's poor shooting.
The good news is that the Magic are figuring out what they need to do and not leaning on their shooting to save them. They are finding a way to play gritty basketball.
Even against a bad team like the Kings, that can go a long way.
Start and Stop Offense
The Orlando Magic's new offense is very much a work in progress.
By the numbers, it is worse than it was last year. It finished Tuesday's game at 110.3 points per 100 possessions. Hardly impressive, especially against a porous Sacramento Kings defense -- so bad that assistant coach Greg Buckner said at halftime the team needed to keep involving the Kings' "bad defenders" in actions.
There are moments when the Magic's offense looks amazing.
Franz Wagner gets downhill to the paint and kicks out as the defense collapses around him or finishes at the rim. The team moves the ball quickly around the horn, when properly spaced, and can attack and kick out again.
That is what happened in the first quarter when the Magic had a 14-point lead. But that evaporated. After shooting 5-for-6 from three in the first quarter. They made just five for the rest of the game.
That up-and-down is seen in the team's pace -- this game against the speedy Kings was played at 96.5 possessions per 48 minutes. Sometimes the team was slow and stagnant. The Magic were never quite sure where their outlet was or how to attack the interior.
The slow offense is why the Magic have one of the worst efficiency ratings in the league this year. Turnovers become a problem in that instance -- Orlando was better with turnovers with 14 for 20 points.
The Magic found a way to scrap. They won the possession battle with 12 offensive rebounds and 15 second-chance points. That counteracted some of the poor shooting.
But the offense has to find its groove more effectively. The better version is wonderful to watch. The worse version is hard.
Win the glass
The early part of the season was characterized by the Orlando Magic's sudden inability to rebound.
The team was in the top 10 in the league in defensive rebound rate last year. That is not something that should have changed with a new coach.
The Magic's defense had a little more pressure to it. Rotations got a little weirder. The team lost some of its defensive advantages with Paolo Banchero out and certainly with Jalen Suggs on the perimeter. Orlando was trying to find its identity.
The rebounding suffered most in that.
The last two games, the Magic made it a point to be more ferocious on the defensive glass. They had plenty of players gang rebounding.
The Orlando Magic grabbed 12 offensive rebounds to the Sacramento Kings' four. They posted an 81.8 percent defensive rebound rate, their second best mark of the season. Limiting the Kings to one shot was key to powering their transition game and keeping a bad team down.
That will be key. Every good defense does a great job finishing possessions. The effort on the glass led to a 104.2 defensive rating. That is the second-best mark of the season.
A key part to this team regaining itself will be securing the defensive glass and going from there.
Alex Morales' chance
Alex Morales was never a big scorer at the G-League level. He is a bit undersized. He is still developing his 3-point shot. Morales is not the guy most fans would have chosen for a two-way contract.
With Tristan da Silva out with a calf strain for at least Tuesday (perhaps even longer), everyone on the roster is going to have to band together to find a way through. The Magic are going to need the hidden things Morales can do.
You will not find much in the box score from Morales -- seven points, 3-for-6 shooting, seven rebounds and +10. That is not his job.
But what two-way players have to do is make their impact felt. They have to make the energy plays to make things work.
Morales was active, trying to attack the glass and knock the ball out of scrums toward teammates. He set a killer screen to free Franz Wagner up for a dunk off an inbound in a critical second-quarter play. He took his turn defending Darius Acuff Jr.
Morales is not going to get many opportunities this season. That is just the nature of being on a two-way contract.
But he is very much the model of the successful two-way player and what the Magic look for in the position. He is just a grinder and full of energy.
The Magic need that to survive the injuries they are going through.
Add us as a preferred source on Google