The Orlando Magic's win streak is over. Here is how it came to a halt.
The Orlando Magic saw their win streak come to an end on Monday night with a 124-112 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Different factors contributed to the loss for Orlando, let's break them down:
“A Step Slow”
While the Magic were coming in hot on a seven-game winning streak, the Hawks were riding a nine-game winning streak, and they would not be denied from making it to 10.
Orlando fell short in multiple categories including rebounds (54-40) and assists (33-20). After the game, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley discussed what went wrong for his team.
“I think we were a step slow,” Mosley said. “You've got to give them a ton of credit. They came out fast and aggressive. We missed a couple shots. It got to our defense a little bit, so they were able to get out on the break a little early.But again, it was the little things within this game.
“We definitely were a step slow tonight. 15 offensive rebounds for 19 points. Turn it over 11 times for 17. Those are things that you're not getting away from. You put them on the line 29 times. We didn't win the possession game. That's what they thrive on, and that's why they were able to get out and get ahead of it.”
Nickeil Alexander-Walker
One day before facing off against reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Magic had to deal with his cousin, Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
Alexander-Walker notched a career-high 41 points on 12-21 shooting from the field and 9-14 shooting from 3-point range. The Magic simply had no answer for him.
Communication
Orlando was not able to operate well enough defensively to slow down Atlanta’s quick offense, and Mosley highlighted the need for proper communication on the defensive end.
“I think the communication, a big portion of that, was the defensive end,” he said. “Again, this is why you've got to give Atlanta a ton of credit in what they've done. They're flying through screens, slipping out of screens, and that communication caused some confusion for us in those areas.
“We weren't physical enough to change the direction of the screen. So, as they were slipping out, they found the guys on low angles, and they were able to get a couple easy ones at the basket. So, we've just got to do a better job of communicating those situations.”
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