The Orlando Magic officially lost Wednesday's game when San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet swatted Franz Wagner's game tying attempt, but the final sequence was not why they lost.
ORLANDO — It did not matter what De’Aaron Fox and the San Antonio Spurs threw at them, the Orlando Magic continued to scratch, claw and fight their way out of multiple double-digit deficits in the second half. Yet, it did not matter in a 114-112 loss that ended their six-game winning streak at home.
The Kia Center erupted in a chorus of boos when Magic forward Jonathan Isaac received a tough luck foul on Fox in the waning seconds of regulation after Franz Wagner tied the game at 112 by converting three free throws. Fox returned the favor by converting both of his attempts, and Orlando had just 1.4 seconds to get a shot off.
The Magic got the ball to Wagner under the basket where he attempted to lay in the tying shot, only to have it swatted away by Spurs center Luke Kornet as the final buzzer rang out. However, the final sequences were not the only thing that befell Wagner and Co.
“It wasn't the fourth quarter that got us,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. It was the second quarter and the way we started the game. It was those pieces.”
“You lose it at the end, but our process and our spirit wasn't right for this game. And I think that gives San Antonio a ton of credit, coming in off a back -to -back, getting in late, staying disciplined, staying focused, and just coming out and doing the job that they needed to do coming here.”
The Magic soundly defeated the Spurs in several statistical categories, including points in the paint (64-42) and fastbreak points (21-9) while forcing 19 turnovers for 23 points. Yet, they could not overcome a sluggish start.
Despite his team’s recent success, Mosley is seeing a pattern he is not pleased with.
“What I'll say is that we need to take a look and understand exactly what we're trying to accomplish in these games, that we can't turn it on and off. It's not a light switch. You got to come out and play for 48. We played about eight good minutes of basketball.”
Jalen Suggs — who finished with 24 points on 50 percent shooting — also sees the team’s stagnant starts and understands that fixing their momentum begins with the right mindset.
“I think it's an intentionality to come up with energy and purpose,” Suggs said. “We talked about it. We knew they're in a back-to-back. I know that's the toughest thing about back-to-backs is traveling and getting your rest and coming out and having that same burst of energy for 48 minutes to a game. And I think we allowed them to take the lead early and hold the lead for a while until it was time to come back instead of including that first blow, really making them match our pace instead of playing out theirs.”
“And then allowing the game to flow from that point and kind of waiting for our time to strike, which we did in the fourth. I think showed a lot of growth from everybody staying locked in up to that point and ready to make our run. But you can be better coming out, be better in certain stretches so that that run that we make isn't too tied up.”
Suggs also acknowledged the toll San Antonio’s zone defense took on Orlando.
“I think it's just how many, how much the ball is moving, more so. Obviously, you have to make shots to get a team out of the zone, but being intentional about moving the ball, finding our spacings to attack the weak points of it. More actions, more passes hurt a zone. I think we just took a little bit too long getting into our stuff as we've seen it.”
The Magic fell victim to the Spurs’ pace, which, in Suggs’ view, comes back to Orlando’s approach.
“I think, again, like I said, it's an intentionality to come out and play hard. To kind of put your will into the game, weird way to put it, but to kind of control pace and control tempo and things of that nature.”
“Like I said, I think we played at their pace for a majority of the game. When they wanted to play fast, we played fast. When they wanted to slow the game down, both with their zone and with their sets, I think we allowed them to do so.”
The Magic will host the Miami Heat on Friday at 7 p.m.