The Magic had the heartbreak of the loss to the Warriors the night before likely still weighing on their minds. They faced a Clippers team that has torched them already this season and would prove to be a difficult matchup with Nikola Vucevic missing a second straight game with back spasms.
Orlando trailed 18-3 to start the game and slowly worked its way back into the game. The Magic found their second wind and had the detail and energy that helped them push the Warriors.
Los Angeles began reloading its starters when the bottom fell out and the energy got sucked out of the team.
The Magic had cut the lead to three when Kyle O’Quinn checked into the game just past the midpoint of the second quarter. The ball rotated to Blake Griffin on his first possession back in the game. Griffin drove to the basket and O’Quinn rose to challenge him. He got the ball first and swung his arm down to complete the block. The swing also hit Griffin in the face and caused the Clippers All Star to fall to the floor.
After a lengthy review, the officials deemed it a flagrant-2 foul on O’Quinn and ejected the Magic’s starting center.
Already down Vucevic and now down O’Quinn, it was going to be tough to handle the Clippers big interior. The Magic spent much of the game trying to clog the paint and prevent lobs. That freed up J.J. Redick to drain 3-pointers and Blake Griffin to hit his improving mid-range jumper.
The flagrant foul was probably not the deciding factor. It just did not help for a team with an already small margin for error against one of the league’s best teams. Los Angeles’ starters were destroying Orlando’s defense and shut down the team’s offense in a 114-86 win at Staples Center on Wednesday.
| Score | Off. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
| Orlando | 86 | 85.1 | 46.2 | 13.6 | 15.9 | 31.7 |
| L.A. Clippers | 114 | 112.9 | 61.5 | 17.6 | 16.8 | 32.1 |
The Magic were just not able to replicate the near-flawless execution from the night before and Sunday in Phoenix. Orlando was not necessarily not as detail-oriented as the team was in the previous two games. The Clippers were just more focused and executed better. The magic were making up too much ground and losing O’Quinn was a major setback.
Orlando shot 41.8 percent from the floor and put only three players in double figures — 16 points from Tobias Harris and 11 points from Ben Gordon and Victor Oladipo apiece. The Magic started the game trying to attack J.J. Redick with Evan Fournier. He made just 4 of 11 shots, getting a few sent back by DeAndre Jordan (three blocks).
Jordan changed the game. Vaughn simply gave his name when reporters asked why Victor Oladipo shot just 2 for 8 from the floor.
Los Angeles’ defense was spot on and made it difficult for Orlando to get up a shot. That went double in the second half when the Magic just struggled to attack the basket.
Orlando’s best offensive option all night was Elfrid Payton. Vaughn threw him into the game much earlier than normal as the Magic fell behind quickly. He finished the game eight points and six assists. He was unafraid to attack the basket — even after falling short at the critical moment last night — and got nine free throw attempts. But he just hit two of those. He airballed back-to-back free throws in one sequence.
No one can fault him for continuing to try though. It was about all the Magic could do to generate offense. It helped them cut the lead to four.
But the Clippers had that momentary second-quarter spurt back out to 13 points by halftime. Redick drained a few more 3-pointers and the Magic looked like they had been punched in the gut. It was tough for this short-handed team to come back. They were staggered and the Clippers were smelling blood.
It was a blowout in every sense of the word.
The Clippers shot 53.8 percent from the floor and hit 12 3-pointers. Redick had four of those 3-pointers on his way to 20 points. Paul had 19 points and 10 assists and Griffin added 21 (10 of his 16 field goal attempts came outside the paint).
Mama said there would be nights like these. She was not lying.
