Surge built with a grind-it-out mentality

Nearly a week ago, the Orlando Magic returned home after going 1-3 on a West Coast road trip feeling good about how they played. Wait, what?

For Magic coach Steve Clifford, the four-game stretch — even though it brought more bouts with adversity — served as measuring stick for the team’s recent progress. Orlando won in Sacramento and played Portland and Golden State close in what ended up being nineand six-point losses with shorthanded rosters. In each game, the Magic lost players to injuries, and they closed the trip in Phoenix with just eight healthy players.

And yet, Clifford saw his team battle and lay the groundwork for where it currently finds itself.

“One week ago today, we flew in here at 5:30 a.m. or whatever it was, 5 a.m., after a 1-3 road trip, which I actually felt good about. And seven days later, we feel a lot better about ourselves,” Clifford said after Monday’s practice. Indeed they do.

The Magic (13-18) have won four of their past five and are on the verge of just their second fourgame win streak of the season after beating the Pistons 105-96 on Sunday.

Through a spate of injuries that continue to sideline Cole Anthony and Aaron Gordon, the Magic keep grinding away. Clifford made sure to inject that assessment into the team conversation during Monday’s practice.

“It’s all about getting better as the year goes on for teams like us. That’s the whole key. Our guys understand that and I think it’s what they’re good at,” Clifford said. “We’ve had the right approach. We’ve hung in there.

“Obviously the trick in our league, because of all the elements of coaching these kind of guys, is if people can’t handle frustration or disappointment, you have no shot. So that’s one thing I think

our group understands. It’s all about making progress.”

Getting players back from injuries has provided the biggest spark. First it was Michael Carter-Williams, then Evan Fournier and Al-Farouq Aminu.

Then James Ennis returned after missing two games. By the time Orlando faced New York last Wednesday, their number of available players was back to 12.

Aminu, who made his first start of the season Sunday, chalked up the recent stretch of good play to the team maintaining its composure.

“When we have gotten down, we didn’t start playing wild basketball,” Aminu said. “We kept on going through our plays and kept on playing the right way, sharing the ball and working for each other.

“We’re just playing one way and we’re trusting in it, too.”

During the past five games, Orlando has posted some of the best defensive numbers in the league. Opponents have shot 43.8% and averaged 105.2 points in that stretch.

The Magic have been even better during their win streak. Opponents have shot 41.1% and scored 101.7 points per game in that stretch. Only the Raptors have been better in those categories in their past three games.

For the season, Orlando is allowing 110.8 points and opponents are shooting 46.7%.

“Our defense and shot-making ability,” Terrence Ross said of the recent surge. “We’re all in a rhythm. I think it’s helping because our defensive play has been a lot better.”

To beat Detroit (8-22) for a second time in three days, Orlando will need to improve its defensive rebounding and transition defense. Josh Jackson and 19-year-old rookie Isaiah Stewart combined for eight of Detroit’s nine offensive rebounds that produced 13 second-chance points. The Pistons also outscored the Magic 18-13 in fast-break points.

Clifford also wants to see his team improve its spacing when Detroit sends a double team at Nikola Vucevic, who scored 37 points on Sunday.

Because of the physical nature of the game, Clifford said players received treatment and did some light shooting in addition to film work at Monday’s practice.

“We need energy for tomorrow because they’re a hard-playing team and they’re hard to play,” he said. “Tomorrow is a big, big game for our team. This is going to be tough. Like I said, they’re hard to play against and it’ll be a big test.”

Tuesday’s game tips off at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Florida. It will be the sixth time this season the Magic have played back-to-back games against the same opponent. They are 6-4 in the previous five back-to-back sets.