The Magic drop
Woeful Magic haven’t led in 15 straight periods
their 7th straight game as DeMarcus Cousins scores 26 points to power the Pelicans to a 111-97 victory.
Fifteen and counting. Fifteen consecutive quarters in which the injury-ravaged Orlando Magic haven’t held a lead.
The misery continued Friday night.
Struggling again with their 3-point shooting and unable to stop DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis or Jrue Holiday, the Magic lost to the New Orleans Pelicans 111-97 at Amway Center.
Orlando has lost seven straight games and 18 of its last 21 games — through a combination of a vicious schedule from Nov. 11 through Dec. 4; injuries to Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac and Terrence Ross; overall talent and depth mismatches most nights; and, at times, a disturbing lack of fight.
“It’s unfortunate,” point guard Elfrid Payton said. “No one likes losing, so it’s not like all happy-golucky. But we know we have a bunch of guys in here that can get it done. We’re essentially missing three starters, so we know when we’re at full-strength, we know we can make a push. But as far as right now, we’ve just got to do more.”
The frustration showed Friday night against New Orleans (16-16).
Coach Frank Vogel, Bismack Biyombo and Payton received technical fouls in the first half for arguing with referees, and Marreese Speights was whistled for a technical for making contact with Davis following a shot by Speights.
The Magic went just 4 of 20 from 3-point range, trailed by as
many as 27 points and allowed the Pelicans to make 50 percent of their shots.
“We just weren’t good enough,” center Nikola Vucevic said.
Vogel employed his 13th starting lineup of the season to try to spark his team, put more shooting on the floor and defend against the Pelicans’ twin towers of Cousins and Davis. Vogel inserted point guard D.J. Augustin and Speights into the starting five alongside Payton, Jonathon Simmons and Vucevic.
On Oct. 30, Speights came off the bench to sink six of his 10 shots from beyond the arc to propel the Magic to a 115-99 victory over the Pelicans on the second night of a back-toback in New Orleans.
In 18 minutes Friday, Speights scored seven points on 2-of-8 shooting overall.
Davis got free often for dunks off lobs and finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Cousins added a game-high 26 points, 11 boards and six assists. Holiday added 24 points.
The Magic haven’t held a lead in any game since Dec. 15, when they led the Portland Trail Blazers 13-12 with 4:35 remaining in the first quarter of a 95-88 loss.
Orlando (11-22) showed some signs of life Friday, though.
Trailing 60-50 at halftime, Orlando cut its deficit to 63-56 early in the third quarter on a transition layup by Simmons.
But the momentum shifted, courtesy of Cousins. He unleashed a crossover dribble at the top of the key and caused Vucevic to fall backside-first to the parquet court. The announced sellout crowd inside Amway Center gasped.
Cousins swung the ball left to Holiday, and Holiday elevated and sank a 3-pointer. His trey ignited an 11-5 Pelicans run.
“DeMarcus is a hell of a player, and he does things to ignite us, especially on the offensive end,” Pelicans point guard Jameer Nelson said.
Payton tallied 18 points, but he scored only two of those points in the second half.
Vucevic fared even worse. Although he finished with 21 points, he made only seven of his 20 shots.
Simmons paired a teamhigh 22 points with eight assists.
Isaac and Fournier are recovering from right ankle injuries, and Gordon has a strained right calf and a bone bruise. Vogel said it appears doubtful any member of the trio will play when the Magic face the Washington Wizards tonight on the second night of a back-to-back.
“We can’t feel sorry for ourselves,” Vogel said. “It’s that simple.”
The Magic’s lack of depth was obvious Friday.
At the start of the fourth quarter, down 88-72, Vogel put the Magic’s two-way contract players — Adreian Payne and rookie Jamel Artis — on the court with Augustin, Simmons and Vucevic.
Vogel had to try something, anything.
It didn’t work, and the season continued to deteriorate, amid a flurry of missed Magic shots.
“There’s going to be times when we get back hot, red-hot,” Payton said. “During times like this, we really got to be locked-in on the defensive end, and it just hasn’t been the case.”
When the final buzzer sounded, with Amway Center’s lower seating bowl half-empty, the Magic had prolonged a humiliating streak.
They have gone 184 minutes and 34 seconds without leading.