The Orlando Magic and San Antonio Spurs faced an unusual set of circumstances heading into Sunday’s game. 

The contest was originally supposed to tip off at 4 p.m. ET, as the Magic visited the Spurs, but inclement winter weather delayed San Antonio’s flight that caused the team to get stuck in Charlotte overnight after its game with the Hornets on Saturday.  

The game was originally delayed to 7 p.m. before eventually being pushed back to 9 p.m. ET by the NBA. 

“Yeah, you know something happens with the plane — weather — we've been in those situations before,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said before the game. “We have to show up on game day and get out and play like they're going to have to do tonight. And I think, sometimes, those are sometimes the easier games because you just laying it all out there.  

You're not worried about all the things that you have to walk into before; you just show up and play, and I think there's a freedom and a looseness that guys can play with in those situations. So, you know, we've got to make sure we come out the right way tonight versus a group who's playing very goodbasketball right now.” 

The delay also caused issues for the Magic, who were compelled to miss their shoot around as a result. 

“Yeah, just being able to control the things that we can control,” Mosley added. “You know, we would have loved to get over here, just depending on the time frame, to get the shoot around in, but the time changed a bunch of times.  

So, that's our ability to just control what we can. And that was going over the game plan, going through the scout, going through film; knowing what they're doing and how they're playing. That's all we can do.” 

Mosley talked about the importance of making sure the Spurs were able to get home while applauding the NBA in its efforts to stay in touch concerning the situation at hand. 

“You know, just making sure that, one, that they get in, you know, to be able to get here to play the game. I think that's important. And the league does a great job of making sure that we communicate the things that need to be done to be able to play the game because you owe it to the fans.  

You owe it to the people that are watching this game to be able to provide that entertainment and provide the game for people that have bought their tickets to come out. 

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