After the Orlando Magic had their rousing showing in Game 3 of their series against the Cleveland Cavaliers to make it a 2-1 series, everyone could feel the series was about to shift. There was bound to be a moment where a game hung in the balance in teh final moments that would tip the series one way or the other.
Entering Game 4, with a chance to tie the series, the sense was that the game was coming very soon. With at least two games remaining in the series, one of these games was bound to have some earth-shattering play that turned a loss into a win or a win into a devastating loss.
That day was not Game 4. The Magic made sure of that with a devastating run in the second half—37-10 for one stretch—that put the game out of reach. They tied the series and left it all in the balance for the final three games.
The close game eventually came. It gutted the team but did not break them.
Orlando trailed by four points with 41 seconds left when Franz Wagner cut the lead to two. The Magic got a miss from Donovan Mitchell with plenty of time left. Orlando opted not to call a timeout and set up a screen for Franz Wagner.
Franz Wagner drove to the basket and tried to catch Evan Mobley napping by going up quickly with his right hand for a layup. Mobley made an incredible play to block the shot and preserve the Cavs' lead in what turned into a one-point win.
Facing elimination, the Magic got their vengeance in Game 6.
Orlando won the fourth quarter 30-18, erasing an early deficit, doubling their lead with a late and-1 play from Paolo Banchero and an incredible putback from Cole Anthony and withstanding 18 points from Donovan Mitchell as they locked out the rest of the Cavs to hang on for the win.
It was a big-time moment for a young team. With their backs against the wall in a clutch situation, the Magic delivered and showed what they were all about.
The home crowd got one more special final memory of this team. The Magic looked like they had grown up before everyone's eyes.
Game 7 ended up not being as tight. Orlando's star in that final game shined bright early on before it faded and then Cleveland's balance and experience overtook them.
Each of those three games showed both the potential for the Magic to win these kinds of games and their immaturity in big games. That potential alone is reason enough to be excited for what this Magic team can do.
Winning close games is a coin flip, but is a measure of poise and maturity. It is the difference between good and difficult seasons. Everything can turn on one possession or one critical stretch.
In a playoff series, the ability to win a close game becomes more important. It could be what turns a series—Wagner makes his Game 5 layup, and the Magic close the series at Kia Center in Game 6. Everything changes and the balances tip based on who comes out on top of these close games.
Good teams may avoid close games during the regular season. They avoid the variability and randomness of the make-or-miss-league. But in the playoffs they are unavoidable. You have to win close games.
Orlando Magic had plenty of clutch success in 2024
The Orlando Magic showed all of their clutch potential throughout the 2024 season. Enough that it should have everyone excited for what is coming in the 2025 season.
Last year, Orlando went 21-14 in clutch situations, when the game was within five points in the final five minutes. They played the 10th-fewest clutch games in the league at 35 and had the 10th-most wins in the league in clutch situations at 21.
Clutch situations include moments like Paolo Banchero's heroics to defeat the Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons to preserve leads late in the game. They also include the come-from-behind victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, the gutsy late-game win over the New York Knicks on Martin Luther King Day that featured an underratedly huge shot from Paolo Banchero and the undermanned victory in Denver against the Denver Nuggets.
It also includes disappointing moments like the buzzer-beating losses to the Atlanta Hawks in Mexico City and Atlanta. Or the late frustrations early in the season against the Los Angeles Lakers. Or holding off the Hawks and Bulls in overtime later in the season.
There are a lot of different ways to win and lose close games. And finding a way to come out on top of these close games is vital a team's success. The pendulum typically swings the opposite way.
But Orlando has players who perform on a big stage.
Paolo Banchero had most of the Magic's most clutch moments last year. He was 14th in the league in clutch scoring with 98 total points.
He scored 17 points in clutch situations during the playoffs (just Games 5 and 6). He shot 5 for 9 from the floor and 3 for 4 from beyond the arc. That is hardly enough of a sample to make conclusions. But it is a promising sign of his potential on the biggest stage.
Franz Wagner had 50 total points in clutch situations and Jalen Suggs had 37.
The Magic can still get better in close games
Despite the relative success, the Orlando Magic have a lot of areas they can improve.
In clutch situations last year, Orlando had a +2.2 net rating. Their defense remained fairly strong, but they scored only 103.0 points per 100 possessions in 133 clutch minutes last year. They posted a 13.1 percent turnover rate—a better mark than their 15 percent turnover rate for the entire game and season, but still alarmingly high in pressure situations.
And while teams expect efficiency to decrease under pressure situations (defenses get tighter and offenses tend to get more restrictive and time-consuming.
There are still a lot of things for the Magic to refine.
Paolo Banchero also had 15 turnovers in clutch situations, the most in the league. He shot an icy 37.8 percent from three and 8 for 32 from three (25.0 percent). He made only 71.8 percent of his free throws.
Franz Wagner made only 36.6 percent of his shots in clutch situations and 1 of 17 threes (5.9 percent). Jalen Suggs made only 40.0 percent of his field goals and eight of his 10 clutch makes were threes (8 for 18 total).
Orlando relied heavily on its defense to finish off games. Its young players were still learning how to close games out.
Still, teams learn a lot about themselves in the fire of the playoffs. The Magic going to the playoffs was a big part of their goal this season so they could get a sense of where they stood in the Eastern Conference hierarchy and what they needed to improve.
To see them respond from a 2-0 deficit in the series, and bounce back from a crushing loss in Game 5 were positive signs of what they are capable of. To win a close game in Game 6 to extend the series showed tremendous maturity.
Maturity that is uncommon for a young team like the Magic and bodes well as they continue to grow up and progress this year.
Each season comes with new challenges. The Magic will face close games again this coming season. How they respond and play in those games will go a long way for this team.
It will be one of the big lessons the team takes from its playoff journey last year.