Led by rookie Jase Richardson, the Orlando Magic's second unit cut a massive deficit down to one possession against the Washington Wizards, but they could not sustain the momentum needed to emerge as the victors.
Even though rookie guard Jase Richardson led the team with a career-high 20 points, the Orlando Magic fell to the Washington Wizards, 120-112, on Tuesday night to open the first night of a back-to-back on the road.
Prior to the game, the Magic placed emphasis on setting the tone defensively and taking care of the ball. When it came to the latter, Orlando fell way short of meeting expectations.
“Yeah, the things that we talked about prior to the game,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said after the game. “We turned it over 19 times for 29 points. You're not giving yourself a chance there. And then you put them on the free throw line 33 times, that's tough to come back from.”
“But more than anything, it's just that, you know, our energy to start the game. I think that's where, you know, we have to turn the page and obviously got to get another game tomorrow night in Brooklyn.”
Orlando could not overcome its sluggish start to the game and fell behind by as many as 15 points late in the first half. At half time, the Magic trailed by 12 points and already had 11 turnovers which the Wizards turned into 16 points.
A bad situation turned worse in the third quarter as Washington capitalized off more turnovers and extended its lead to 26 points. Mosley had to make a move, and he turned to the bench.
Led by Richardson, the Magic’s second unit breathed life into the team and successfully mounted a run to cut the deficit to two points with just over five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
“They're the ones that got us back in the game,” Mosley said. “And that's why they deserve to be in the game, because they're the ones that battled that far back to get us to that point, and that group deserved to be on the floor.”
“They played their tails off. They had energy, they had spirit, they had fight, and that's what you ask these guys to do every time they touch the floor. And that's what they did.”
Making it a one possession game is as close as the Magic would get before the Wizards would push their lead back out to 10 points with under two minutes to play, ultimately sealing Orlando’s fate.
For Richardson, the deficit did not matter; what mattered was the opportunity at hand.
“Just don't matter what the score is,” Richardson said. “We're going to come out there and play hard. A lot of those guys; Jett, me, [we] know we're all just waiting for our number to get called. And we know when our number gets called, we got to make plays, and that's kind of what it was.”
With a trip to New York to play the Brooklyn Nets up next, Richardson emphasized the importance of the team playing with more energy and urgency.
“I think we've got to come out with that same energy that we had in the fourth quarter. It was pretty disappointing in my opinion, just our energy or a lack of focus. It was just kind of disappointing because we just weren't playing the way that we normally play.”
“So, it was kind of frustrating; we just got to carry over that energy that we have in the fourth quarter.”