A second Magic preseason loss came last night at the hands of the New Orleans Pelicans for Orlando by a score of 86-104, dropping an early 13 point lead.
THE MENTIONS IN A SECOND MAGIC PRESEASON LOSS
For Orlando Coach Mosely went with a different starting lineup as he used preseason to experiment with the rotations. For the first quarter it was good, with nice effort and energetic play.
Cole Anthony, as the night’s starting point guard played as if to stake claim on the position, finishing with 12 points.
Mo Bamba started well but got into early foul trouble. It ultimately saw him limited on the night to just 12 minutes play before fouling out for 7 points, 3 rebounds and an assist.
Wendell Carter Jr led all Magic players as he came from the bench, notching up a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds. Rather than being at the centre position he spent a lot of the game at forward, being on court alongside debutant Robin Lopez.
THAT GOT AWAY FAST!
After the first 12 minutes the game went from Orlando. The tape review will not make for a fun session. Turnovers by the boatload. A defence that felt slow and at times out of position. There was also a lot of rough shooting as Orlando went for a total field goal percentage of 36% and only 32% from deep.
A 13 point Magic lead was quickly eradicated as New Orleans moved the scoreboard along. The Pelicans took a 9 point lead during the second quarter in a 22 point turnaround. Orlando did rally and by the half the Pelicans held a single point lead.
A very low scoring 3rd quarter for both teams followed. It saw Orlando again recover a deficit, taking a small lead before going into the final quarter down by 4 points. New Orleans held a 1 point lead with 10:30 left to play. A disastrous 5 minutes for Orlando saw that lead balloon to 18 and Coach Mosely called it a night.
Both Magic rookies had a rough game. Franz Wagner failed to register a point, whilst Jalen Suggs scored only 2. By the contrast Trey Murphy III led the Pelicans with 20 points, including 6 made buckets from beyond the arc. In his two preseason games so far he has been successful with 12 of the 19 attempt from the three.
A FULL REVIEW OF A SECOND MAGIC PRESEASON LOSS
A full game review by the Magic’s Josh Cohen can be read here on the Orlando Magic website.
Up next for Orlando is two more preseason games, both at home in the Amway Center. The first is against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday Oct 10th with an 11pm tip time (6pm Eastern for our friends in Orlando). Preseason is rounded off against the Boston Celtics again (Oct 13th). The real business begins on opening night with the Magic in San Antonio on October 20th.
