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Denton: Magic vs. Celtics Analysis (1/19/14)

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

By John Denton Jan. 19, 2014

ORLANDO – Stuck in the throes of an ugly losing streak and coming off a winnable game that slipped through their fingers two nights earlier, the Orlando Magic had an emotionally charged team meeting on Saturday where they discussed the need to make radical changes in their approach.

At some point in that meeting, which included both the players and the coaches, veteran guard Arron Afflalo stood up and had a rather harsh assessment of the squad.

``We told ourselves that whatever we were doing, it’s not working,’’ Afflalo said. ``So it was time to make a change now or it was going to be a freefall.’’

Desperate for a victory after dropping the previous 10 games, the Magic made several changes for the better on Sunday night. Gone, Afflalo said, were the personal agendas and stat-grab plays that had been prevalent of late. This time around, the seminal moments in the game revolved around Glen ``Big Baby’’ Davis and Victor Oladipo diving on the floor for loose balls, Afflalo mixing it up for 13 rebounds and the Magic valiantly scrambling defensively on the last possession of the game. And when the Magic frustrated the Boston Celtics and didn’t even allow them to get off a shot on the final play of the night, Orlando was able to win 93-91 and shed its 10-game skid.

``The emphasis is on competing for wins and tonight I thought we did that,’’ said Afflalo, who had 20 points to go with his career-best-tying 13 rebounds. ``I could feel no personal agendas and all I could feel was five guys on the court and the two guys off the bench really looking for a way to get a victory tonight.’’

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