By John DentonOct. 28, 2015
ORLANDO – Up five points with 2 minutes left in a season-opening game that had all the makings of the kind of feel-good victory they needed, the Orlando Magic showed yet again down the stretch that they are still a work in progress.
Not only did the Magic squander their late lead when their offense ground to a halt, but they also could only look on in horror as superstar guard John Wall gashed them for the game-winning points in Washington’s 88-87 defeat of Orlando.
For a Magic team that has endured so many heartbreaking losses over the last three seasons and hoped for better under new coach Scott Skiles, the late crumble was especially disheartening.
``It’s frustrating to be that close in the game and then to not come away with the win,’’ Magic forward Tobias Harris said. ``It’s real disheartening, but with these things, we’ve got to learn from them. We were in this scenario a lot last year and as a team we want to take a step out of that.’’
Added Skiles, who hoped his Magic could enjoy a taste of success as a reward for all their work in the preseason: ``(The Wizards) made the plays that they had to make and we didn’t. That’s kind of what it came down to.’’
Following Wall’s go-ahead floater with 12.7 seconds to play, Orlando (0-1) had another nightmarish scenario unfold when Harris’ potential winning layup hung on the rim for what felt like an eternity, but it ultimately fell off following a flurry of activity in the lane.
Washington’s Marcin Gortat tried blocking Harris’ shot and instead smacked high right hand on the backboard, causing the rim to shake. Referees didn’t whistle Gortat for goaltending, but they did stop the action for a goaltending call when Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic and an unidentified Washington player tried tipping the miss in. However, Orlando’s ref-assisted basket that briefly gave it the lead was wiped off when replays showed no goaltending had occurred when the ball rolled outside of the rim’s cylinder.
``As you know this year, several plays are now reviewed and the ruling is made in the replay center,’’ referee Jason Phillips told a pool reporter. ``This (goal-tending) is one of those plays. So, they made the ruling and said that it was a legal touch.’’
Asked about Gortat’s tap that replays showed jarred the backboard, Phillips said: ``By rule again on that, if the backboard is slapped and it doesn’t cause an unusual bounce of the ball, by rule it’s a legal play. And that’s what we felt.’’
With 3.5 seconds put back on the clock he Magic tried getting the ball back into Harris, but instead had to pass to center Nikola Vucevic. The 7-footer took a fall-away jump shot at the horn that was offline, leaving the Magic to try and find the positives in another crushing defeat.
``We had a lead with a minute-or-so left and we feel like we had control of the game, but they are a good team and they made some big plays at the end,’’ said Vuvevic, who made just five of 13 shots for 10 points. ``It’s tough. We had a lot of those (close losses before) and we’ve got to learn from it and find a way to finish those games.’’
Skiles, who was hired in late May be the Magic to instill mental and physical toughness in the team, wanted the final possession back in Harris’ hands. Vucevic instead got the ball and the coach didn’t particularly like the jump shot he ended up getting.
``We certainly can’t take a one-dribble fade away there,’’ Skiles said. ``We’ve got to put our head down, drive the ball to the basket and try to get some contact.’’
Victor Oladipo scored 17 points, while Harris chipped in 15 points. Elfrid Payton nearly notched the third triple-double of his career with 11 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Despite missing most of the preseason, Aaron Gordon had 12 points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes.
Making his regular-season NBA debut, Magic rookie Mario Hezonja had 11 points – none of them bigger than the 3-pointer he drilled with 2:19 to play that gave Orlando an 85-82 lead. However, with the Magic trying to hold onto a one-point lead in the final minute, Hezonja had the ball stripped out of his hands and it bounced off his leg and out of bounds for a turnover.
Wall scored 22 points, grabbed seven rebounds, handed out six assists and incredibly swatted five shots for the Wizards (1-0), who have now beaten Orlando nine straight times over two-plus seasons.
Bradley Beal pumped in 24 points for a Washington team that had a huge advantage at the free throw line. The Wizards made 15 of 25 free throws, while Orlando connected on just eight of 12 tries.
Up 78-70 midway through the fourth period, the Magic came unglued when Washington ripped off 12 straight points. This time, however, Orlando responded with nine consecutive points of their own to surge into an 87-82 lead. However, the Magic didn’t score the rest of the way, missing five shots and turning the ball over twice.
``The biggest positive was that we were able to overcome adversity within the game,’’ said Oladipo, who made seven of 20 shots. ``When they went on their runs we came back and attacked them and got back in the game. But the biggest negative was that we still have some things to tighten up offensively and defensively, too. We can play better and I think our group knows that.’’
The Magic will be back on the practice floor on Thursday before hosting Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. Of the Magic’s first six opponents, OKC is the lone team not in the playoffs last season and that was only because Durant needed three surgeries to repair a broken bone in his foot.
Orlando trailed 53-51 at the half and that was good news considering how it struggled to defend early on without fouling. The Magic were whistled for a whopping 14 fouls – three against reserve center Dewayne Dedmon and two more against three other players.
The fouling led to another troubling free throw disparity for the Magic, which ranked last in the NBA in free throw attempts and makes last season and again this preseason. Washington got to the line 15 times in the game’s first 24 minutes, but made just eight. Meanwhile, Orlando got just six free throws early on in the game.
Payton, who finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting last season, showed no ill effects from the hamstring injury that knocked him out of the final five preseason games. He had eight first-half points with three of his field goals coming on jump shots that were the product of a summer’s worth of work.
Hezonja and Gordon also gave the Magic big lifts off the bench in the first half. Hezonja, the prized No. 5 pick of last June’s NBA Draft, made his first three shots and two 3-pointers for eight quick points in his first three minutes of action in his NBA regular-season debut.
All in all, Skiles liked the effort, but not a sour finish that so many of his players have tasted dozens of times before in the previous three seasons. Despite another heartbreaking result, Skiles feels the Magic are close to turning the corner and winning tight games like the one they dropped on Wednesday.
``The important thing is the commitment that the guys have made on both ends of the floor and how hard that they’ve worked,’’ Skiles said prior to the game. ``We’ve made progress and now we’re about to find out if it will translate to games. We know that, at some point this season, it will (carry over to games) because I’ve never been a part of a team that worked to the level that these guys have worked and not gotten better. So we’re going to get better.’’