Last night saw Orlando beaten by Houston. In a hard fought and entertaining game the Rockets came away with a 116-118 win over the Magic.
Orlando had made another fourth quarter rally, trailing by 13 with 4 minutes of the match remaining. The game was tied in the final minute. The veteran play of Eric Gordon came up big for Houston with their final two scores. The last was a floated shot off a Euro-step with only 1.6 seconds of the game remaining. Cole Anthony was trusted with getting the win for Orlando and was close to sinking the three.
From an Orlando perspective scoring 116 points and losing is not acceptable or something to be expected.
Magic Top Performers
Cole Anthony finished with 26 points. He was so close to hitting the winner a deep three at the buzzer that hit the lip of the basket.
Franz Wagner filled up the boxscore stats with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Terrence Ross also had a strong performance with 18 points.
Wendell Carter Jr played a strong defensive game against Christian Wood, limiting his effectiveness all night. Wendell got two blocks to go with another double-double of 10 points and 16 rebounds.
Mo Bamba put up 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go along with 2 steals and another 3 blocks.
Moving On
Orlando’s record is now 5 wins and 19 losses. The Magic remain 14th in the Eastern Conference, above Detroit. The Magic have won 2 of the last 10 played. The home record reads 2 wins of 10 games played, whilst on the road it is 3 wins in 14 played.
The Magic now move to San Francisco for a meeting with the 19-3 Golden State Warriors on Monday (Tuesday 3am U.K. tip time). In facing the Warriors that means the young Orlando squad get to try and cool the brilliant Steph Curry. Golden State are ranked first in defense and third in offence.
A review by Josh Cohen who was present to see Orlando beaten by Houston can be read here on the Orlando Magic website.
