The Orlando Magic played yet another close game against a very good NBA team that is in contention for a title.
Yet again, Orlando came up just short, getting loss #6 of the season.
Orlando had control of the game for the majority of the first half. In fact, the Magic led the game by five at the end of the first quarter. They also were tied at 60 with the Mavericks at halftime. However, the youth showed towards the end of the game as Dallas outscored Orlando 54-45 in the second half to pull away.
Luka Doncic’s Domination Helps Mavs to Victory
Whenever Doncic plays well, the Mavs tend to do so in return. Orlando had no answer for him defensively as he exploded for his best game of the year with 44 points on 65 percent shooting from the field. When an MVP-caliber player shoots the ball that well, it is hard to stop his team from winning.
Doncic was only 2-of-9 (22%) from three, though. Most of his points came from inside the paint when he either get fouled or had short shot attempts. Doncic performed at a high level with ease as he was matched up with undersized defenders like R.J. Hampton and Terrence Ross.
Tim Hardaway Jr. had a very productive outing off the bench with 21 points for Dallas. His second half spark was big for the Mavs to wake up and pull away from Orlando. He was not shy about shooting the basketball as he had the second most attempts on the team behind Doncic with 15.
Dorian Finney-Smith was the other Maverick to be highly active in the game. He finished with 13 points and had a clutch three-pointer in the fourth to seal the deal. He went 3-of-5 (60%) from behind the arc.
The Magic out-rebounded the Mavericks by ten boards. Finney-Smith’s presence on the glass was big as he snagged eight rebounds. Christian Wood also helped Dallas with 10 boards of his own. The two Dallas big men helped to keep the Mavericks active, getting rebounds to keep them in the game, even when they were behind during the first half.
Despite Another Loss, the Magic put Together Another Impressive Outing
Unfortunately, Paolo Banchero’s “20 points a game” streak came to an end. He did still have a great performance with 18 points, even on an off-night, shooting at 30 percent (6-of-20). It is clear that head coach Jamahl Mosley and his staff want the number one overall pick shooting as much as possible to be their go-to scorer.
Other Magic players stood out, too. Fan favorite Bol Bol, who has had a few great games this season, finished with a double-double (16 points and 11 rebounds). Bol has impressed this season including a 19-point performance in MSG against the Knicks and a near double-double against the Cavaliers. He has been an intimidating player while in the game and did very well in the starting rotation against the Mavs.
Kevon Harris and R.J. Hampton played well off the bench for the Magic. They had 12 and 15 points, respectively. Hampton shot an impressive 6-of-9 (67%) from the floor, too.
Wendell Carter Jr. had a productive game with 15 points and nine rebounds. Franz Wagner also contributed to the scoring with 11 points.
Orlando was close to, if not beating Dallas in a lot of statistical categories. They led the Mavs in rebounding, assists, blocks, etc. It is another frustrating loss after staying with a championship caliber team for most of the night.
Carter Jr. on the loss: “We gave ourselves a chance down the stretch, but I felt like we just had some mental lapses, especially on the defensive end, and sometimes on the offensive end we were a little too stagnant.”
Up Next
The Magic are now 1-6 to start the season. This is not the brightest spot to be in, but there is a lot to be hopeful for down the stretch. The next game is Tuesday night in the Paycom Center against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Tip-off is at 8 p.m. E.T.