The Orlando Magic did not get off on the right foot in the first night of a back-to-back.
ORLANDO — The Christmas festivities were alive and well in the Kia Center, but the Orlando Magic could not deliver the gift of a win in their first home game in over two weeks.
The Magic fell to the Charlotte Hornets, 120-105, in a performance in which the offense was devoid of efficiency and adequate effort.
Orlando shot just 39.4 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from the perimeter. Meanwhile, the Hornets converted 48.7 percent of their 3-point attempts. Moreover, they more than doubled Orlando’s second chance points with 25 on 52 percent shooting.
Following the loss, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley did not mince words.
“The bottom line,” he said. “Charlotte came in here and kicked our ass. There's no other way to put it.”
“Excuse my language, sorry, but they did. 16 offensive rebounds for 25 second chance points. Those are effort categories. They wanted the ball more. They got the ball. And when they got the ball on the second chance, they knocked shots down.”
Orlando matched the Hornets with 16 offensive rebounds but only secured 11 second chance points. On 14 of those shot attempts, the Magic made just three, and every time they successfully earned a stop but could not secure a possession, the more discouraging the night became.
“[It is] deflating when you get the initial stop, but you don't finish the possession,” Mosley added. “And that's what they did. Give them a ton of credit. They've been playing great basketball, won the last three out of five”
“Charles is doing a heck of a job with that group. And that's what they did tonight. There's no excuses. They just wanted it more. That's the way you look at it, you know. That's what Charlotte came in here and did.”
The collective sluggishness has become commonplace for the Magic in recent games, and it is an issue Anthony Black realizes must be remedied.
“Honestly, I think this has been going on for a couple of games with the loose balls and just teams just out-toughing us,” Black said after leading the team with 24 points. “So, I just think we got to figure out a way to look in the mirror and get tougher and play harder, for sure.”
The solution is not complicated, and Mosley was forthright about what it entails.
“Hit somebody,” he said. “Go get a rebound, box out, go get a rebound. And when that ball goes to a three-point shooter, close to his chest, so he doesn't blow by you, and keep him in front of you. That's part of the game plan.”
The loss to the Hornets marks the first game of a back-to-back, with a superior Denver Nuggets team arriving on Saturday. The Magic lost to Denver just over a week ago, and Nikola Jokic is coming off a 56-point triple-double in a Christmas Day overtime win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Mosley is unhappy with his team’s performance, but he relishes the opportunity Saturday will bring.
“Well, the loss stinks, and the fashion in which we lost because it wasn't our brand of basketball. But that is the beauty of the NBA, that you get a chance to figure it out again tomorrow against a great basketball team.”