Magic Musings: Harkless, Oladipo not enough for Orlando against Washington
The Orlando Magic would gladly like to see more games where both Victor Oladipo and Maurice Harkless are able to top the 20-point mark.
They would also gladly like to see less of Washington Wizards guard John Wall.
Oladipo, playing in front of several friends and family members in the D.C. area, poured in a team-high 26 points while Harkless matched his season-high with 22. But their efforts couldn't offset a brilliant performance by Wall, barely a week removed from his first NBA All-Star Game appearance, as the Wizards prevailed 115-106.
While the win was the fifth in a row for the Wizards, the loss was the 16th consecutive defeat for the Magic away from home, tying a franchise record for the longest road losing streak.
The Magic shot 50 percent from the floor and finished with a 45-36 advantage in rebounds. But the Wizards made 52.5 percent of their shots and had four of their five starters score more than 20 points, headed by Wall with 27.
Harkless, who was averaging barely more than six points a game in his second season with the Magic, went 9 of 13 from the floor in 38 minutes. His output was needed because the Magic were again forced to go without leading scorer Arron Afflalo (sprained right ankle).
Nikola Vucevic added 19 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out.
In addition to their 3-27 record on the road, the Magic fell to 1-12 this season when playing the front end of back-to-back games. Their only victory came Nov. 26 at Atlanta.
THE TURNING POINT
The Magic closed to within six points of the lead before the Wizards outscored them 7-0 over the final 2:10 of the third quarter. Included in that run was a free throw resulting from a technical foul against Tobias Harris.
THE DIFFERENCE MAKER
Wall had 18 points by halftime and wound up going 11 of 19 while also handing out seven assists.
STAT OF THE GAME
Trevor Ariza went 5 of 5 from 3-point range and is 9 of 9 from that distance this season against the Magic. He did not make a single 3-pointer as a member of the Magic in 2006 and 2007.
WHAT'S NEXT
Wednesday night at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. (FOX Sports Florida).
You can follow Ken Hornack on Twitter @HornackFSFla or email him at khornack32176@gmail.com.
