Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Magic Drop Another Close Loss vs. Suns
The Orlando Magic lost a close 116-113 game to the Phoenix Suns on the road. Orlando fell to 28-42 on the season while Phoenix earned a much-needed win without Kevin Durant to move to 38-32 and increase their lead over the No. 5 seeded Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA Western Conference standings.
In a game that went down to the last second, five Magic players scored in double figures behind 25 points on 11-17 shooting from the field from Markelle Fultz. Cole Anthony gave Orlando a valuable 27 minutes off the bench with 17 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists.
Phoenix matched Orlando with five players of their own reaching double figures. Devin Booker struggled early with three first half points before erupting for 16 points in the second half. Despite losing the rebounding battle 47-35, the fast break battle 26-2 and the points in the paint battle 58-40, Phoenix turned up their defense at opportune times to seal the victory.
First Quarter:
Both teams came out in traditional man defenses and were very alert in reading one another's plays and telegraphed passes with precision. Orlando had three deflections and one that materialized into a steal before the first timeout of the night. Coach Jamahl Mosley opted to have his players pick up Phoenix ball handlers early. Gary Harris was meeting Booker at the half court line and Fultz and Banchero served as a thorn in the side of Chris Paul off the inbounds pass.
Torrey Craig broke the game open with a spot up three-pointer before Fultz made the Suns defense pay with a lead pass to Wagner for a breakaway dunk.
Deandre Ayton got going from the midrange with a pump fake into a 15-foot jay from the charity stripe followed by a 13-foot jump-shot from the baseline. Carter Jr. would not let his matchup show him up offensively, as he displayed range with a spot up three-pointer at the top of the key, and was later the recipient of a dump-off in the restricted area for an easy two.
Specifically, Banchero was featured in several isolation plays on the right side, and was able to produce five points in the quarter. Fultz showed off his speed with a coast-to-coast high arcing layup and his handles with a shimmy crossover into a pull up bomb. CP3 retorted throughout the quarter with two jump-shots from the same spot, just above the left block.
Cam Payne continued his campaign for Sixth Man of the Year with two crucial three-pointers, the latter of which resulted in a four-point play. This followed a couple of lead-extending trifectas from Cole Anthony.
The story of the quarter was Orlando hanging 10 unmatched fast break points on Phoenix, getting to the line with verve, and the Suns failing to hit an open three in the corners. At the end of one, the Magic led 31-30.
Second Quarter:
Payne had his fingerprints all over the quarter. The Magic had a very bad habit of losing him in blown switches and coverages outside, leading him to pull-up or make the right reads. Additionally, Jock Landale gave Payne much support, remaining aggressive. He had a couple of million dollar moves and ten cent finishes, yet took advantage of Orlando bigs not respecting his offensive prowess with a couple of hook shots in close.
Wagner, Banchero and Fultz picked up where they left off in the second quarter, racking up points in the paint. Wagner had two driving layups. Fultz impressively bodied CP3 for a point-blank deuce. Banchero went to the post and spun for an easy finish. Moritz Wagner got in on the fun with a beautiful jab step drive leading into a drop step that opened him up for a contested layup on the left baseline.
Also, the Magic maintained efficiency, keeping up a 51.1 percent field goal connect rate at the half. The Suns were able to increase their field goal clip from 40 percent a the end of the first to 50 percent at the end of the second.
Booker was not able to get anything going through two. When he drove, he lost the ball more times than once. On the wings, Mosley was relentless at taking him out of his comfort zones with traps. A notorious first quarter scorer was held inert into the break, scoring three points on 1-5 shooting. Thankfully, Paul was consistent in getting into the lane and connecting on floaters, and Phoenix turned up their playoff-level defense at the end of the quarter, leading them to a 63-58 lead at the half.
Third Quarter:
Booker finally got going in the quarter. He had 12 points in that 12 minute span, beginning with a running hook from eight feet out. He also had a catch-and-shoot three on the left wing and a sidestep three from the left corner shortly after. He was major in the Suns extending their lead in the period.
Josh Okogie finally got a three-pointer to fall, rising to 1-6 from downtown on the night. As per the trend of the game, the Magic poured on inside. Fultz had a fast break layup, Wagner was the recipient of a second lead pass after leaking out, this time leading to an and-one layup and Wendell Carter Jr. was active on the offensive glass with putback dunks.
For the better part of the first six minutes of the quarter, both teams were trading baskets. The defense was not bad, but it was not playoff-caliber either. The only thing intense about the Magic defense throughout was the incessant trapping of Booker, who continued to make the right reads with two defenders on him despite his teammates being boom or bust off the pass.
Payne had seven points in the final 3:23 of the third to give Phoenix a needed boost. Orlando cooled off at the tail end of the quarter in a final six minutes they wish they could've had back.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth, coach Mosley went with Goga Bitadze over Bol Bol -- who had played in the first half. Bol would end up checking in again with around eight minutes to go. Without Fultz in the game to maintain pace, Anthony admirably filled his shoes.
Bol had a beautiful two-handed floater in the lane off the drive with just under seven minutes to play. He would cut the Magic deficit to three points, trailing 101-98. Within moments, Anthony led the break and found the younger Wagner trailing for a spot up three to tie the action at 101.
Down the stretch, things got very interesting. With 5:04 left, Okogie hit another three, from the left corner making it 104-101 Phoenix. Booker extended the lead to five after another defensive breakdown in the screen-and-roll gave him all night to knock down an elbow jumper.
Banchero stopped the bleeding with a rainbow three from the left corner before Booker retorted with an 18-foot jumper. Banchero tried to make it two and a row but shot an air ball from the top of the key. The length of the Magic defense stopped Booker on the other end out of an isolation play, translating into Banchero drawing a foul on the other end.
The Suns led 110-108 with under two minutes to go, before Paul hit yet another midrange jay to make it a four point lead. After Carter Jr. hit a three to cut it to one, Paul made another shot to extend the Suns lead to three, and then Phoenix forced a turnover that they couldn't turn into points on the offensive end.
With under 30 seconds to go, Booker drained clock on the left side near the half court line, and once he began to make his move, Fultz picked up the most crucial defensive play of the game with a deflection, allowing Banchero to rip away the ball from a fallen Booker. Orlando would show maturity, waiting for a sound shot attempt before Suns coach Monty Williams called for his troops to commit a foul on Fultz. He would make good on the pair.
After advancing the ball, all the Magic could do was foul with six seconds left, sending Terrence Ross to the charity stripe. Ross hit both free throws, putting Orlando on the hot seat for the final shot of the game. Okogie got the game-sealing block on Banchero to end the night.
Up Next:
The Magic have 12 more games left in the season. Their next matchup will be against the Los Angeles Clippers on the road on Saturday.
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