ORLANDO – Prior to beginning their toughest challenge yet in facing the Milwaukee Bucks and the Denver Nuggets on consecutive nights, Orlando Magic coach Steve Clifford said the back-to-back would prove whether his team could string together a couple of complete games against elite competition.
On Friday, the Magic got an answer that they certainly didn’t like considering the absolute completeness with which they were shredded by the Bucks on both ends of the floor.
When Orlando’s highly ranked defense proved no match for Milwaukee’s 3-point assault, its offense continued to struggle and it was completely run past in transition, the result was an unsightly 123-91 loss to the Bucks.
``We just played soft. They were getting whatever they wanted,’’ said Magic forward Aaron Gordon, whose team was outscored 54-32 in the paint, 36-2 on the fast break and 51-36 at the 3-point line. ``They were driving down the lane and knocking down threes, so we played soft.’’
The only good thing to emerge from Friday for the Magic (2-3) is that they will get a shot to redeem themselves against the Nuggets – another playoff powerhouse – on Saturday at the Amway Center. Just how the Magic respond on the heels of Friday’s dispiriting loss will speak volumes about the character of the team, all-star center Nikola Vucevic said.
``In this situation it’s good that we can respond (on Saturday) right away with another great (Denver) team coming in that was the (second) best team in the West last year in the regular season,’’ said Vucevic, who had 14 points and seven rebounds in 25 minutes. ``So, it’s on us to respond. If we put up a good fight, play and get the win, then things can change quickly. A lot of the things that we didn’t do well (Friday) night, we can change by (Saturday). They’re little things and things that we know that we can (correct). They’re big things, but little as far as how long it takes to change them. So, we just have to put in the effort and focus.’’
The Magic led by 13 points in the opening minutes only to see the game completely turn around when the Bucks (3-2) started hitting 3-pointers from all corners of the Amway Center. In shrugging off the slow start, Milwaukee grabbed a four-point lead by the end of the first quarter and it had leads as large as 23 points in the second period, 28 in the third and 34 in the runaway fourth.
Orlando’s lack of response and inability to ever slow down the Bucks deeply frustrated Clifford, who nearly burned through all of the Magic’s seven time outs in the game’s first three periods.
``The people most responsible for how hard a team plays every night is the head coach and the best players,’’ Clifford said. ``That’s how the NBA works. Nobody else – the head coach and the best players.
``Gave up 36 fast-break points when it was the first (and) the biggest emphasis (in the morning practice),’’ Clifford continued. ``And the second-biggest emphasis was the 3-point game, of which (Milwaukee’s shots) were wide open. Wide open, wide open. It wasn’t like they made all of these great shots – they were wide open. It was an unacceptable effort against a great team, and (the Bucks) played well. … So, hopefully we will all do better, starting with me, (on Saturday) and the best players. We’ll see if we can do better.’’
Orlando’s only solid stretch came in the third period when it briefly got within 15 points. But that’s when reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (29 points, 14 rebounds and six assists) started carving the Magic up inside to build the Bucks advantage back to 24. Antetokounmpo came into the game just 2 of 14 from 3-point range, but even he drilled a long-range shot late in the night and playfully motioned to the Milwaukee bench afterward.
For the game, Milwaukee shot 50.5 percent from the floor and hit 17 of 47 3-pointers, while Orlando’s offense continued to struggle both overall (37.4 percent) and from 3-point range (12 of 37). The Magic have yet to score at least 100 points this season.
``Shots are not falling and they’re not going to fall all the time, but I’ve just got to keep shooting and the rest will come,’’ said Magic guard Terrence Ross, who struggled through a four-of-15 shooting night and has connected on just 24.5 percent of his shots on the season and only six of 35 from beyond the 3-point line. ``I think once we play better as a team, I’ll start to get into a rhythm better. Once the offense starts to click, I think everyone’s individual game will start to click. We’re going to get there. We haven’t lost faith, it’s still early and we have a lot of work to do, but we’re still positive that we can get to where we were.’’
Ten Milwaukee players hit 3-pointers, led by Eric Bledsoe (18 points and two 3-pointers) and Khris Middleton (16 points and two 3-pointers). Donte DiVincenzo, who was filling in for resting veteran Kyle Korver and hadn’t taken a shot in a game prior to Friday, drilled four 3-pointers and scored 14 points. The Bucks were a plus-34 on the scoreboard in his 17 minutes on the floor.
Evan Fournier led the Magic with four 3-pointers and 19 points, but 10 of those points came in the first quarter. Nikola Vucevic added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Jonathan Isaac (three of 11), Aaron Gordon (three of 10) and Ross (four of 15) each finished with 11 points.
Clifford was eager to see if the Magic could play well both offensively and defensively in the same game because of the large imbalance in their effectiveness through the first four games of the season. Through the first four games, the Magic ranked at or near the bottom of the league in points per game (95.8, 30th), field goal percentage (39.5 percent, 30th), 3-point field goal percentage (28.8 percent, 29th) and offensive rating (96.7 points per 100 possessions, 29th). For the most part, they had been able to ride one of the league’s best defensive units, ranking second in points allowed per game (93.8), sixth in field goal percentage allowed (41.3 percent), second in 3-point field goal percentage allowed (26.1 percent) and third in defensive rating (94.2 points per 100 possessions).
That defense, however, was no match for Milwaukee’s spread-out, hot-shooting offensive attack on Friday night. The Bucks came into Friday ranked fourth in the NBA in scoring at 119.3 points per game, sixth in field goal percentage at 47.1 percent, second in 3-point makes a game (16) and second in 3-point attempts a game (45.8). In the lead up to the game, the Magic talked about the need to close out on 3-point shooters and to sprint back defensively, but they failed miserably on both fronts on Friday.
``That was definitely the two emphasizes, but they just destroyed us in transition,’’ Fournier said. ``It makes it hard because they run to the three, which is a little unusual with five (players) out running to the three and their (center) not even trying to set a screen just (operating out of) five (players) out (on the perimeter). That opens up a lot of driving lanes. It’s unusual and we didn’t do a good job, for sure.’’
Down 21 at intermission, the Magic looked as if they might get run out of their own arena early in the third period. They saw the deficit swell to as much as 28 points before making a charge that got them within 88-71 by the end of the period.
The third-quarter turnaround came about because of the difference beyond the 3-point line. After drilling 11 threes in the first half, the Bucks went one of 11 in the period. Orlando used a 14-2 burst – which included two nifty layups in traffic by point guard Markelle Fultz (five points, four rebounds and three assists) to get as close as 15 in the third period.
The Magic trailed 62-41 at the half – a shocking score considering that they led by as much as 13 points (at 20-7) in the opening minutes. Ignoring Orlando’s fast start, Milwaukee responded with a stunning 40-9 burst that completely flipped the game around. During that run alone, the Bucks drilled nine 3-pointers to grab control.
``With that kind of team, once they get the lead, they feel more and more comfortable and they shoot with a lot of confidence and make a lot of shots,’’ Fournier said. ``And when they’re making shots, they’re hard to guard. We just should have done a better job defensively and rebound better (from bad stretches), for sure.’’
By halftime, Milwaukee had hit 11 of 25 3-pointers and 54.3 percent of its field goals. Of the 11 Bucks’ players to see the floor in the first half, 10 of them attempted 3-pointers and eight of them made shots from beyond the arc in the game’s first 24 minutes.
In the first quarter alone, 16 of Milwaukee’s 20 field goals were from beyond the 3-point line. And in the opening half, 33 of the 62 points came off 3-pointers. The Bucks were so effective shooting from the outside that Antetokounmpo was reduced to being little more than a playmaker (nine points, seven rebounds and four assists in the first half).
Orlando opened the game by making eight of its first nine shots to build the 13-point edge. However, from that point, the Magic connected on just seven of 37 attempts and saw the game slip into the abyss.
``It got bad and it got bad quick,’’ Ross said. ``We have to do a better job of responding, staying together and making sure that we’re playing harder.’’
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors.