ORLANDO – In the Orlando Magic’s raw autopsy of another ice-cold shooting night that left them walking dead over much of Tuesday’s second half, many of the team’s players pointed to the plight of Golden State superstar guard Klay Thompson for inspiration.
Thompson, of course, had absolutely nothing to do with Orlando’s disappointing 107-99 loss to the surging Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night at the Amway Center. However, with the Magic (2-5) still in the throes of an unsightly shooting skid from the 3-point line, at least two of the Magic’s players invoked Thompson’s story to show that a shooting turnaround is still completely possible.
For those who missed his jaw-dropping heroics in Chicago on Monday, Thompson shook off a hideous shooting slump to open the season by drilling an NBA record 14 3-pointers. Thompson needed just 27 minutes to score 52 points. Those breath-taking feats were even more impressive when considering that Thompson – a four-time all-star and a three-time champion – had made just five of his first 36 3-point shots in Golden State’s first seven games.
After the Magic shot just 39.6 percent from the floor and connected on only 11 of 43 3-point heaves to send them to a third straight loss, Thompson’s turnaround served as a motivating factor.
``When you’re struggling, you kind of look at what other guys are doing and you’re like, `Ahhhh, I’m not the only one (struggling),’’ said Magic guard Evan Fournier, who made just three of 13 shots and one of six 3-pointers in a nine-point night to drop his overall shooting percentage to 37.4 percent for the season. ``To see a guy like Klay (on Monday) finally making shots, it even feels good for myself. I know it’s going to come for me too, but I want it to be today.’’
So, too, does a Magic squad that sat at 2-2 early last week following an impressive defeat of the Celtics in Boston. However, Orlando has since lost to Portland, Milwaukee and Sacramento (5-3). The Kings wiped out an 11-point deficit in the second quarter and broke open a close game with a 13-2 burst to end the third period.
Orlando cut a 13-point deficit to two with 5:27 to play, but it then hit a cold and sloppy stretch offensively. Sacramento used another 10-2 run to blow the lead out to 101-91 and quiet the crowd of 15,074 inside the Amway Center. The Magic turned the ball over 17 times – seven of those miscues coming in the fourth quarter. The Kings converted those Magic mistakes in the game into 16 points.
``We’ve got to be stronger and smarter with the ball down the stretch,’’ said Magic forward Aaron Gordon, who 18 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and two steals, but he also missed five of his seven 3-point shots and turned the ball over twice. ``Trying to be more deliberate made us tentative and second-guessing ourselves and that causes turnovers.
``We’re doing a little too much and I know I had a couple (of turnovers), especially that one bad one dribbling in the paint,’’ Gordon added. ``Mistakes are going to happen and we just have to clean up the ones that we can control.’’
Orlando once again shot a franchise record 43 3-pointers – something it did on Saturday in the loss in Milwaukee. The Magic have made just 21 of their last 86 3-point tries, dropping them to 30.5 percent from beyond the arc for the season.
Jonathon Simmons, who had 12 points on Tuesday despite making just five of 13 shots and only one of five threes, is hopeful that the Magic can make a Klay Thompson-like about-face with their shooting.
``That’s just what (he and Fournier) were talking about,’’ Simmons said, referring to Thompson’s turnaround. ``I mean, we’re working hard. So, there’s really nothing we can say about making shots other than, `they’ve got to go in.’ But I think we’ll be all right. I believe in this team and I’m positive we’ll be alright. You work hard, it’ll show. And we’re going to get the results.’’
Nikola Vucevic had 15 points and 15 rebounds and reserve guard Terrence Ross chipped in 17 points. Magic rookie Mohamed Bamba scored seven points and grabbed seven rebounds and he came up especially big on the defensive end with five blocks. Fellow big man Jonathan Isaac scored nine points in 25 minutes.
Sacramento came into Tuesday having won three games in a row, including an impressive whipping of the Heat in Miami on Monday night. The Kings have now won four in a row – something they haven’t done since February of 2017.
Buddy Hield, whom the Kings got in the DeMarcus Cousins trade with New Orleans two years ago, scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Nemanja Bjelica chipped in 21 points and three 3-pointers. Point guard De’Aaron Fox, who was questionable to play because of a back injury, had 14 points and five assists. Rookie Marvin Bagley III, the No. 2 pick from last June, had 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench and Willie Cauley-Stein added 14 points and 11 boards.
The Magic don’t play again until Friday when they host the Los Angeles Clippers. While the Magic should be well-rested, L.A. plays the 76ers in Philadelphia a night earlier.
Fournier, Orlando’s leading scorer each of the past three seasons, planned to do some soul-searching before then. He discounted the notion that his game is lagging because he is adjusting to Orlando’s new coaching staff under Steve Clifford as Fournier has played for seven coaches throughout his time in the NBA with Denver and Orlando.
``I’ve just got to get my (stuff) together,’’ he said bluntly. ``I’m playing terrible for this team. I’m a big-minutes guy and, you know, I can’t play like that. We need everybody on this team and I’m just not playing well enough for my teammates and it’s a big reason why we keep losing these games.’’
Sacramento has tried to rebuild its roster through the NBA Draft, using high picks to grab promising young players such as De’Aaron Fox, Bagley III, Cauley-Stein, Skal Labissiere and Justin Jackson. Kings head coach Dave Joerger said that while his organization is high on its young players, it is well aware that it will have to live with the growing pains of having a roster heavy on inexperienced players.
``The draft is a talent grab and everybody has to be on board,’’ Joerger said. ``… We really like the guys that we’ve gotten and we like our team. We know that out there a ways, we’ve got a chance for those young guys to be special. But it is out there a ways, and sometimes it has to be reminded.’’
Joerger likes what the Magic have assembled in Bamba and Jonathan Isaac – the No. 6 picks from the past two NBA Drafts. Both are 7-foot and have the potential to be game-changers with their long-armed defense, Joerger said.
``I am impressed (with Bamba). He’s long, they’re long and I’m a Jonathan Isaac fan and I think the future is very bright (for the Magic),’’ the Kings coach said. ``I like what (head coach) Steve (Clifford) is doing. It’s going to take a minute with all of those things, but goodness gracious, you can get in there (in the paint) sometimes and it feels like you are playing catch in among the tree branches because (Bamba and Isaac) are smacking things around. So, they can make the court pretty small.’’
Following a dreadful finish to the first half, the misery continued in the third quarter for the Magic. Orlando made just six of 24 shots and one of nine 3-pointers in the period and trailed 85-72 by the start of the fourth. Sacramento closed the third with a 13-2 run that was pock-marked by Magic misses. Their one field goal over the final six minutes of the third – a Vucevic tip-in – came after a missed shot.
Clifford, who has worked hard to make the Magic a better defensive and rebounding team, felt the poor finish to the third period is what cost Orlando a shot at a win on Tuesday. If not for the bad ending to the third, Clifford feels the Magic have been able to survive the shaky shot-making and turnover-heavy fourth quarter.
``The third quarter was really the tough one for us – those last two-and-a-half minutes there where, I think, it went from five to double digits,’’ Clifford said. ``I would say as much as anything the inability to score in the third quarter was the biggest part of the game for us.’’
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