Magic's 'Laxed' Third Quarter Costs Them in Overtime Loss vs. Kings

The Orlando Magic fought hard against the Sacramento Kings, building a massive 20-point lead. However, the lead was gone as fast as it was built. And it led to another loss Saturday.

ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic is back in the loss column after a buzzer-beating 126-123 loss to the Sacramento Kings Saturday evening at the Amway Center.

In an overtime game, every possession and bucket counts, but it didn't appear like it would be that way when the Magic took an 18-point lead to the locker room at halftime. However, their advantage would be squandered in the third quarter after the Kings went on a 31-10 run to completely shift the momentum.

"I think the third quarter to me was the main stretch that got them back in the game," head coach Jamahl Mosley said. "You look at a 36-12 quarter where we came out a little bit laxed, turn the ball over a couple times, not expecting them to fight back. I think that was a big portion of the game."

Giving up big leads has become a pattern for the Magic now. When the Magic played the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, an 18-0 run sent Orlando into a tailspin and allowed them to fumble a very winnable game. Now, for the second time in three games, it's happened again.

"We were up, and we were just happy with being up... But there was a whole 24 minutes left. The energy just shifted when they came out hot."

Young teams like the Magic deal with growing pains all the time. This is nothing new. However, seeing Orlando repeat mistakes, especially twice in the same week, show how close the Magic is, but also how far the team has left to go in order to get to where it wants to be.

You can follow Jeremy Brener on Twitter @JeremyBrener.

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