What Jamahl Mosley, Wendell Carter Jr. Said After Magic's 112-90 Loss to Nuggets

The Orlando Magic's 22-point loss to the Denver Nuggets brought an unceremonius end to a five-game Western road trip Thursday night. Here's what Magic coach Jamahl Mosley and center Wendell Carter Jr. said postgame.

Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley before a game against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Orlando Magic fell to the Denver Nuggets 112-90 on Thursday night, capping off a 1-4 Western road trip.

MORE: Magic have no answers for Jokic, Porter Jr. in Blowout loss to Nuggets

After the game, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley and center Wendell Carter Jr. met reporters to discuss the loss.

Here's a partial transcript of their media availabilities.

Jamahl Mosley

On what got away from them after the first quarter...

"I think our communication level dropped off, Joker [Nikola Jokic] did an unbelievable job of picking us apart in different ways, cuts to the basket, guys flying around, assignments missed in certain areas, getting it to MPJ [Michael Porter Jr.]. Some of that came from long shots being long rebounds. They were able to get out and run and find the three-point line for those easy baskets. I go back to just being able to communicate the right things in our defensive coverages, but then again getting the right shot at the right time so your floor is balanced."

On how much fatigue from the back-to-back affected them tonight...

"It kicked in, fatigue definitely kicked in. But again, we are not going to look at that as an excuse because we did the exact same thing last year. I think you have to understand that it does not feel good, it is not pretty. Joker touched us, same with Michael Porter Jr. I think we have to continue to look at what we have to do in these moments right now. You are not as bad as you are in your losses, and you are not as great as you think you are in your wins. So, we have to find an even ground on how we are going to continue to play the right way with consistency."

Wendell Carter Jr.

On what got away from them after the first quarter...

"Transition, they got out in transition on makes and misses, very similar to the Sacramento game. We did a better job of that in the Sacramento game, we didn’t do a great job of that tonight. Second quarter was kind of there push, only being down nine going into the half. Third quarter we weren’t disciplined, the story of my tenure here, honestly. We just have to find ways to be better. We played really well in that third in Sacramento. We have to find a consistent level for us to play at, for us to sustain, no matter what team we’re playing against."

On how much of a factor fatigue was...

"You definitely could see it tonight. Just in the first couple of minutes you could see guys we’re kind of
gassed, KCP [Kentavious Caldwell-Pope], Franz [Wagner], Paolo [Banchero]. I think the whole starting five was a little gassed early on. Like you said, I’m not one for excuses, you have to find a way to play through that. It’s only 48 minutes, so we have to find ways to play until exhaustion. You can tell Coach I need one now, get a quick one and come back in. There’s a lot of ways around that. So, we just have to do a better job of managing that. Also, just throwing it out there that this was Franz and Paolo’s first back-to-back since their injuries. So, that’s also a big thing including the altitude and then also getting in at 3:00 AM. Those all played factors, but we’ll figure it out."

Up Next

The Magic host De'Aaron Fox, Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday evening for the first of three home games before the All-Star break. Tipoff is 7 p.m. ET at the Kia Center. Full Schedule

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