Nothing is worse than the way the Magic lost Wednesday’s game to the Wizards.
A team brimming with confidence had it seemingly taken away from them by losing a five-point lead in the final 90 seconds. The Magic were plenty aggressive — Tobias Harris was charged with an offensive foul on a fast break and Victor Oladipo missed a layup on one of the final possessions. The Magic were not the sharpest on defense, but it was asking a lot for Elfrid Payton to contain John Wall completely.
It was the details that cost the team, and that was what mattered at the end of the game.
Victor Oladipo said the plan was to switch after the inbounds as the Magic had 0.8 seconds to hold on and force overtime. Tobias Harris said the team was supposed to stick to their man. The end result was Bradley Beal celebrating a game-wininng basket after Paul Pierce sprung him loose from Victor Oladipo.
The mood in the locker room after the game was incredibly somber. The usually upbeat young Magic, even after losses, were quiet and contemplative, trying to understand what just happened and how this one got away.
“It hurt,” Elfrid Payton said. “It hurts when you outplay him for most of the game. We’ve just got to execute down the stretch. Got to make plays down the stretch.”
Things are not that simple though. There are compounding reasons for why a loss like that happens. Jacque Vaughn used his postgame press conference to deflect questions about the final play and note that every play throughout the 48 minutes was important — from the transition 3-pointer given up in the first quarter to that final heartbreaking play.
The other constant noted throughout the postgame was that the team had to find a way to come together 48 hours later for a double date with the Hawks, another of the Eastern Conference’s best teams at the moment. All the opportunity the Magic saw in the game against the Wizards remains.
Still, practice Thursday according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel was about getting over the disappointment of this home loss which slipped away.
Victor Oladipo: “I’m looking forward to playing again. I know we’re trying to get that sour taste out of our mouth.”
Jacque Vaughn: “I just love the mindset that we’re at right now, where we just played one of the top teams in the East and we were expecting to win and our players were upset. That’s a good sign. We’re heading in the right direction.”
That was something noted throughout the game and is something of a sign of progress, even if it is a small one. Morale victories are done. This team wants real victories. It is not just talk.
It was easy to sense in the locker room after the game and was an observation made by fans too.
@OMagicDaily another positive in my opinion is that both players and fans are upset about losing. This team has raised the expectation
— Andy Jordan (@the_fan9) December 11, 2014
With young team — or any team — the trick is not the end of these games. It is really about how you respond to these games.
After the Magic lost to the Warriors, they came out the next day and laid an egg against the Clippers. They got behind early and frustration set in when Kyle O’Quinn got ejected. This was never a game.
Vaughn used the old adage that you cannot let a team beat you twice. The biggest challenge for the Magic is not stopping Bradley Beal’s game-winning layup but coming back with the resolve to respond the next game out.
It is time to move on.
