Setback caps road to ruin
With 1 home game left, Orlando finishes away schedule with 57th loss
MILWAUKEE — The next-tolast game of the Orlando Magic’s disastrous 2017-18 season resembled the team’s season as a whole.
Orlando started well, then suffered through a long, frustrating fade. The Magic took a sevenpoint lead over the Milwaukee Bucks midway through the third quarter Monday night, gave up an extended run and lost 102-86 in the final regular-season game at the Bradley Center.
“We had a bit of a rough stretch offensively to finish the quarter, and defensively we couldn’t get stops when they made a run,” center Nikola Vucevic said.
“The NBA is a game of runs. When they made a run, we didn’t respond, and they took the game there.”
True, but somehow that still feels like an understatement.
After the Magic went ahead 61-54, the Bucks outscored them 44-17.
Orlando just cannot stop opponents’ runs — a problem that has bedeviled the franchise ever since the middle of its 2012-13
season, the first season of its unending rebuild.
“You’ve just got to have poise and focus on the next play,” coach Frank Vogel said. “You’ve got to have a forward-thinking mindset. Whatever happens, you’ve got to not let it impact the next one.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks’ All-Star, sat out the game because he had a sore right ankle, but point guard Eric Bledsoe made up for Antetokounmpo’s absence. Bledsoe scored 20 points, gathered 12 rebounds and dished out 11 assists — his fourth triple-double in 491 career regular-season games.
The Magic opened their season with an 8-4 record, going 4-2 on the road.
But a viciously difficult, road-heavy schedule and an onslaught of injuries factored into a massive decline. The Magic lost 31 of their final 35 road games.
Because of Monday’s defeat, Orlando now owns a 24-57 record and is tied with Atlanta and Dallas for the league’s third-worst record.
“Our defense has never been consistent enough,” Vucevic said. “We had good stretches, but we also had bad stretches. In this league, you have to be consistent in what you do. You can’t expect to be great every night, but you can’t have as many up[s] and downs as we do.”
Thanks to the Miami Heat’s loss Monday night, the Bucks (44-37) sit in sole possession of sixth place in the Eastern Conference. If the standings hold up, the Bucks would face the Philadelphia 76ers in the playoffs’ first round.
Next season, the Bucks will move into a building that’s being constructed next door, the Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center.
Monday served as the home regular-season finale for the Bucks, who have inhabited the Bradley Center since the 1988-89 season when their roster featured Terry Cummings, Sidney Moncrief, Ricky Pierce and Paul Pressey and Del Harris served as their coach.
Green and white confetti fell from the arena’s ceiling when the final buzzer sounded Monday.
“It feels great, especially with it being the last regular-season game here at the Bradley Center,” said Khris Middleton, who combined 18 points with seven rebounds and six assists. “It’s a great win. It’s been a great season so far, and we’ve got one more game to close it out with.”
Evan Fournier, Jonathan Isaac, Terrence Ross and Jonathon Simmons didn’t play for the Magic, who continued to devote extended playing time to rookies Jamel Artis, Khem Birch, Wes Iwundu and Rodney Purvis.
The Magic trailed 31-21 to start the second quarter, and the Magic opened the period with Shelvin Mack, Purvis, Artis, Birch and Bismack Biyombo on the floor. It seemed like the lineup would struggle to generate any offense — as it usually does — but the quintet scored 12 consecutive points as it held the Bucks to 0-for-12 shooting.
That outburst helped set the stage for Orlando to take its 61-54 third-quarter lead — a lead that evaporated quickly.
Milwaukee fans would like nothing more than their favorite team’s postseason run to be as decisive as Monday night’s final 18 minutes.
Another confetti celebration — this time in the postseason — would be welcome here.