During the first quarter of Friday’s game between the Magic and the Bulls at United Center, Orlando outscored Chicago 33-22, shot 62.5% from 3-point range, held its opponent to 33.3% from beyond the arc and allowed just two free throws.
The only problem?
Jamahl Mosley‘s squad was outscored 99-82 the rest of the night as it shot 37.5% from distance in the final three quarters, let the Bulls shoot 34.4% from the perimeter and gave up 15 free throws.
Those differences quickly added up to a 121-114 victory in favor of the Bulls, who were without starting guards Josh Giddey and Coby White.
“There’s a lot of reasons,” Mosley said when asked why his team came up short. “In that fourth quarter, we slowed down.”
Mosley is not wrong in his assessment.
After the Magic jumped ahead 97-91 less than a minute into the final frame, the Bulls outscored them 22-9 from the 11:19 mark of the fourth to the 3:49 mark to take control of the contest and not let loose.
Prior to that point, there had been 19 lead changes in a game that was tied eight times.
But in the fourth quarter specifically, Chicago outscored Orlando 30-19 as the Magic shot 1 for 11 from 3-point range and the Bulls went 10 for 11 at the free-throw line.
By the end of the night, the Bulls had grabbed nine offensive rebounds, scored 14 second-chance points and held a 54-55 advantage in the paint.
“It’s all back to the fundamentals,” Mosley said about the rebounding problem. “You’ve got to make sure you finish the possession out. A lot of those dagger 3s that came were because of the offensive rebounding.”
Perhaps it’s not a coincidence the contest shifted largely in Chicago’s favor after Magic guard Jalen Suggs exited the game with 1:06 left in the third quarter and did not return because of a right knee strain.
In just his second game back from missing seven due to a left hip bruise, Suggs scored 11 points in 20 minutes, finishing with the team’s best plus-minus rating (plus-15) while adding three rebounds, four assists and a steal prior to leaving the court.
“We know how much Jalen loves the game,” Magic guard Anthony Black said. “You can see [that] by how hard he plays, how much passion he plays with. So it’s tough for him not being able to be out there, but we’re trying to be there for him.”
AP Photo/David Banks
Magic guard Jalen Suggs sits on the bench after suffering a right knee strain during the second half of Friday’s game in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
Even before Suggs got hurt, however, the Magic led by as many as 13 points prior to the Bulls fighting back, marking yet another game in which Orlando surrendered a double-digit lead in a loss.
And while basketball is often described as a “game of runs,” the Magic are seemingly taking on more losses than they can afford almost halfway through the season.
Orlando hasn’t won consecutive games since Nov. 28-Dec. 1, and since then the team has gone 6-8 with none of its wins coming in double-digit fashion (something that hasn’t happened itself since Nov. 25).
The stretch has come at time when rising star forward Franz Wagner has been unavailable the last 11 games because of a left high ankle sprain. Prior to Wagner’s injury, the Magic were 14-10 and fifth in the East when he averaged 22.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 36% shooting from 3-point per night during the first 24 games.
Entering Saturday’s slate of games, Orlando (19-16) had fallen to eighth in the conference and was 5-6 without Wagner.
Although an opportunity to bounce back presents itself for the Magic when 6-win Indiana comes to town Sunday, the Pacers (6-29) pushed Orlando to its limits Wednesday when it took a Paolo Banchero layup with 7.5 seconds left at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to capture a 2-point win.
“All five dudes on the court have got to make a decision that we want to play defense,” Black said. “That’s it. We’ve got to make a decision that we want to guard, play harder.”
Indiana lost its 11th straight game Friday night at home to the Spurs.
And home is where Orlando is hoping to find some momentum before the team hits the road again for a back-to-back at Washington on Tuesday and at Brooklyn the next night.
“Our fans are the best and us getting back in front of them is going to be huge,” Mosley said. “Our biggest goal right now is just to find a way to shake this one off, learn from it and find a way to take care of Indiana on Sunday.”
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com
Up next …
Magic vs. Pacers
When: 3 p.m., Sunday, Kia Center
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida