The Orlando Magic won their last two home games of the regular season, and there were multiple significant moments that occurred.
Now that the Orlando Magic have concluded their home slate of games, here are some bullet points from their two most recent wins inside the Kia Center:
Magic Slapped with $25,000 Fine
The NBA announced on Thursday that it would be fining the Orlando Magic $25,000 for violating the league’s injury reporting rules.
The violation stems from failing to properly disclose the injury status of guard Anthony Black, who prior to Monday’s game against the Detroit Pistons was listed as “Out” on the initial injury report but then proceeded to play in the game. It was Black’s first game back in the lineup for Orlando since March 7 after suffering an abdominal strain.
Mosley Cherishes Crowd
Exactly one week before the Magic’s April 8 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in their final regular season home game, the team suffered a blowout 130-101 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
The lopsided defeat was Orlando’s eighth in its last 110 games at that point, and fans inside the Kia Center were loudly booing the team and producing chants calling for the firing of coach Jamahl Mosley.
At the time, Mosley did not blame the Magic faithful for their reaction.
“Rightfully so,” Mosley said. “Rightfully so. Did we put out the effort that we needed to? Did we have the energy that we needed to? Nope. And we deserve to give these fans a better product on nights like this.”
Since then, the Magic have won four-straight games.
During the win over Minnesota in which the Magic led by as many as 24 points, the crowd that was making its grievances known seven days earlier was full of jubilant cheers and applause. After the game, Mosley took the time to laud the fans in return.
“I've said it time and time again, and I'm just getting goosebumps now thinking about how great our fans are,” Mosley said. “You know, they stick with you, and they want to be a part of it so much, and they are a part of it.
“They're a reason why we get going,” he added. “I mean, there's moments in the game, you know, we get a steal, we get a big stop; they raise our level, and our fans are absolutely incredible, and I don't even say that lightly.”
Goga Bitadze’s Big Night
In Wednesday’s win over Minnesota, big man Goga Bitadze made the most of the evening.
Bitadze notched 14 points, 15 rebounds and six assists off the bench for Orlando in its 132-120 victory, marking his second double-double of the season and his first since Jan. 11 in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
While Bitadze was happy to have had a good night statistically, the main source of his satisfaction resulted from the win the Magic were able to secure.
“Today was one of those nights where it goes your way,” he said. “It's just numbers, but most important is that we get the win. If we don't get the win, it means nothing. Numbers don't mean a lot.
“I was just playing hard and happened to have a good night, and I'm super, super, super happy that we won the game.”
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