Magic fall short at home in closing minute

Orlando fails to close out Wizards despite lead at half, tight game

Throughout the 2021-22 season, wins have been hard to come by for the Orlando Magic. But even for a team that has lost 22 of its last 25 games, its most recent stretch of defeats has been particularly difficult.

Heading into Sunday, the Magic had lost four straight games by 10 points or fewer, including an overtime loss and several situations where the team had a chance at a win in the closing minutes.

But despite the many nailbiter losses, the coaching staff hoped it could soon see a breakthrough with its young roster better understanding close game situations each night.

“Four or five games ago, you talk about different situations at the end of the game that we may not have gotten a shot off,” coach Jamahl Mosley said. “Just the improvement of them understanding and recognizing scenarios, which we’ve talked about all year, to me, that shows tremendous growth in these young guys.”

Close score or not, the Magic were in desperate need of a win against the Washington Wizards on Sunday night. Orlando came into the game having lost eight straight and had not won a home game in well over a month. A win felt especially critical following Saturday night’s performance where the Magic fell on the road to the Detroit Pistons, the only other team in the league with fewer than 10 wins.

But league-worst Orlando (7-34) once again failed to close out a close game, falling to Washington 102-100 despite a halftime lead and a tight score into the final seconds.

Guard Terrence Ross had an explosive night, putting up 32 points on 65% shooting, including a stretch in the third and fourth quarters where he scored 20 straight points for the Magic. He also pulled down 3 rebounds to go

along with 2 assists to pace 5 Magic scorers in double figures.

Early on, it looked like the Magic could be looking at a blowout loss. The team couldn’t get anything going on offense, missing six of its first seven shots, and the Wizards raced out to a double-digit lead less than five minutes into the game.

But Orlando battled back right away, going on a 23-7 run through the rest of the quarter to keep the game tight. The Magic maintained control of the game in the first half through improved shot selection and pestering the Wizards into mistakes on defense, taking a sevenpoint lead into halftime.

But despite Ross’ offensive output, Orlando could not hold off Washington in the second half as the Wizards took control late in a back-and-forth game.

Going into the game, the Magic knew that they would have to find a way to slow down guard Bradley Beal to have a chance at a win. Beal came into the night averaging 24.1 points per game to go along with 6.4 assists and 4.6 rebounds.

“Bradley Beal, it starts and ends with him. He’s the major focal point in what they do. Got to make sure we defend him without fouling.,” Mosley said before the game. “Obviously, seeing multiple defensive coverages is what we’re gonna have to do to stop him. The other guys are playing extremely well. [Kyle] Kuzma can get hot … they have a good cast, they provide a good amount of support for Bradley, so we’ve got to just make sure we are defending at a high level, being physical without fouling.”

Despite preparing for his impact, Orlando struggled to contain Beal as he finished with 20 points to go along with 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Meanwhile, Kuzma had 27 points and 22 rebounds.

The Magic will get a few days off before heading out on the road for a rematch with the Wizards in Washington on Wednesday.