Orlando Magic Grades: Washington Wizards 94, Orlando Magic 91
The Orlando Magic fought their way back from a big deficit to make it a close game with the Washington Wizards. It was just too little too late as the Magic ran out of gas.
VS.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
| Wizards | 26 | 22 | 24 | 22 | 94 |
| Magic | 14 | 24 | 30 | 23 | 91 |
As shoppers were flooding the stores on Black Friday looking for steals on holiday gifts, the Orlando Magic were unable to steal a victory from the Washington Wizards as they lost 94-91 at the Amway Center on Friday.
Ugly, sloppy and unattractive are all adjectives that can describe a Magic game. At times, it could be a good thing for the Magic as they have been able to grind out wins that way. Other times, not so much.
This style of play leaves the Magic in big deficits that are insurmountable. Friday may have been one of those nights.
Yes, the Magic were able to come back and take the lead, but the team had a lot of work to do from the poor start to the game.
The game looked like it was going to be a long one for the Magic. They were down 26-7 early and looked absolutely terrible. Somehow, the Magic were able to climb back into the basketball game. Orlando was in it until the very end and eventually took its 10th loss of the season thanks to John Wall‘s playmaking brilliance and blinding speed in the final two minutes.
Slow starts have been a trend for the Magic so far this season. Time and time again the Magic have failed to put up points in the first quarter. When up against a team with John Wall and Bradley Beal, things are going to get ugly.
That is exactly what happened. Wall and company were able to take advantage of Orlando’s turnovers and missed shots for a ton of fast break points. Defensively, the Magic were not much better. The team seemed uninterested and disengaged through the first quarter and it led to Washington taking an early 26-14 lead.
Funny enough, things would change for the Magic, at least on the defensive end. The Magic were able to force more stops and it let Orlando run in transition. The team was still a problem on the offensive side. The Magic only managed 38 first-half points along with 15 turnovers. The Magic would enter the locker room down 10.
Yet again, the Magic defense was great in the third quarter. Orlando strung together stops as they slowly clawed their way back into the game. A strong quarter from Elfrid Payton and Serge Ibaka helped put the Magic in a position to win the basketball game.
Down four, as the fourth quarter opened up, it felt like the Magic could steal a win from the division rival Wizards.
The fourth quarter was full of excitement. The Magic were able to hang with the Wizards until the final minute as the Wizards were able to take a four-point lead they never gave up. Orlando almost stole one, but the team ran out of gas.
Mario Hezonja
G, Orlando Magic
Hezonja struggled to say the least. He turned the ball over multiple times in his limited minutes and seemed tight all night. Other than a highlight alley-oop he caught from D.J. Augustin, Hezonja was not much of a factor. He finished with two points in nine minutes of action.
On the defensive side, Hezonja did not look totally lost as he has in past games this season, which is a good sign and something Frank Vogel was definitely looking for.
Again, seeing Hezonja on the floor is a positive sign, but there will not be a reason to play him if he continues to play like this. Hopefully, in the next week Hezonja can develop a consistent role that will help him develop into an asset for this Magic team. His offensive skill could provide a major boost to this struggling offense.
Nikola Vucevic
C, Orlando Magic
On top of all of that, he provided some impressive passes. Vucevic ended the half with a double double on his way to 17 points and 17 rebounds for the game.
On both the offensive and defensive boards, Vucevic was tremendous all night. His effort was there the entire night and he put the Magic on his back throughout this game.
Even though Vucevic was quiet for most of the second half, he deserved a nice rest. The game would have been a blowout if he weren’t playing at such a high level in the first half.
So far this year, Vucevic has been in a slump on offense. His defense on the other hand looks worlds better. Vucevic looked strong against a Wizards team that can put up points quickly.
Jeff Green
F, Orlando Magic
Frank Vogel has decided to start Green over Aaron Gordon for the past week or two and it does not seem to be making much of an impact. Not anymore, at least. Of course, which players are finishing a game is the more important issue and Green is still doing that despite some of his offensive struggles and his inconsistent defense.
Green ended his night with seven points and three boards on three-of-nine shooting. A bad night to say the least. He got beat on a drive late in the game that hurt the Magic as they tried to chase the Wizards and maintain their slim lead in the fourth quarter.
With the slow starts the Magic have been getting off to, maybe another change is necessary.
Washington Wizards
5-9, 12th East
As usual, John Wall was the player of the game for Washington. He had his struggles on offense, but he was disruptive on defense and picked up three steals. Wall just missed a triple-double as he dropped 25 points with 10 assists and seven rebounds.
Frankly, the Wizards record says it all. At 5-9, the Wizards are not very good. Wall and Beal are the two catalysts and if they are off, Washington really struggles. If the Magic played like they did early on against a better team, they would not have had the chance to make a comeback like they did.
Washington had the game in the palm of its hands for almost three quarters. Then, things got interesting in the fourth quarter. The Magic and Wizards battled possession-for-possession through most of the quarter until the Wizards were able to squeak out a victory.
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