There was one simple reason the Magic failed to hold on to a lead late at Amway Center. Yet, that reason gets more complex the more you look into it. The simplest thing and the hardest thing to do in a basketball game.
Execution.
Sometimes bounces do not go your way. An offensive foul that was questionable at best. A defensive foul up one point on a loose ball going after the offensive rebound. John Wall just hitting ridiculous shots over and around good defense from rookie Elfrid Payton.
These things happen. Execution is what still gives you a chance to win the game.
The Magic still had that despite a stagnant fourth quarter offense. Victor Oladipo, who missed on a layup a possession before with his team up one and needing a score to steam the tide, pulled up for a long two hoping the clock would run out while the ball was in the air. It clanked off the side of the rim no good and left the Wizards 0.8 seconds left to win the game with a basket.
Oladipo was again at the center of the play, learning a hard lesson about getting around a screen. Bradley Beal worked his way around a Paul Pierce screen and Andre Miller lobbed him the ball. Eight tenths of a second was enough time to get it up to Beal for him to tip it in for a dramatic 91-89 win for the Wizards at Amway Center on Wednesday.
| Score | Off. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
| Washington | 91 | 104.7 | 53.7 | 20.5 | 10.5 | 11.1 |
| Orlando | 89 | 98.9 | 49.4 | 19.5 | 10.2 | 10.7 |
Orlando was simply stunned.
“It’s tough,” Oladipo said. “Credit them, they played well down the stretch. We’ve just got to keep growing and keep getting better.
“You learn something new every time. We just have to continue to keep getting better, watching film and keep learning how to win down the stretch. It’s just like learning everything else — learning how to win in general, learning how to win down the stretch, learning how to learn from your mistakes. Everything is a learning process, you just have to take it one game at a time.”
Orlando had learned some of those lessons on the road. After giving up that lead against the Warriors, the Magic came back and finished two games on the road with late-game flourishes. It seemed they had figured something out in these late game situations. But each one is certainly different and the Wizards, unlike the Jazz or Kings, are aiming at a deep Playoff run. That much became apparent.
The Magic shot 6 for 22 in the final quarter and scored only 14 points, the same amount as the Wizards scored in the paint the entire period. Orlando saw a five-point lead with 1:30 to play disappear with John Wall making difficult shots over Elfrid Payton, the Wizards grabbing offensive rebounds and drawing timely fouls. Orlando frittered the game away.
How so? Those shooting numbers along with the ugly one assist in the final 12 minutes tell a good chunk of that story.
The Magic’s offense got stagnant as they tried to force feed matchups they liked. Payton was often going up against Nene or Tobias Harris was trying to post up Andre Miller. The Magic struggled to pick up their pace and get into their offense quickly, instead forcing themselves to try to take advantage of these mismatches.
Orlando failed to capitalize and offensive fluidity suffered as each possession became isolation after isolation.
“It’s all about ball movement,” Harris said. “We’ve got to keep moving the ball, keep screening guys and I don’t think we did that. We let all their switching affect us tonight. That started in the first quarter. We found a way in the second and third quarters and early in the fourth quarter to keep moving the ball and keep screening other guys and get other guys free and make multiple passes. We kind of got away from that in the fourth quarter.”
Oladipo had several chances to put the game away, but made only two of his five shots in the final quarter. He finished with 17 points and six rebounds on 7-for-16 shooting, struggling to find his rhythm. Kyle O’Quinn struggled on the inside with the Wizards’ size and length on his way to 10 points on 4-for-15 shooting. Elfrid Payton was getting to the basket and but struggled to finish, when he was not getting his shot blocked. Payton had 12 points on 6-for-15 shooting to go with six rebounds and four assists.
Harris was the only one, it seemed, shooting efficiently. He had 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting.
It was Payton though who helped spark the Magic in the second quarter. As the team was struggling, he scored eight points in quick succession that helped spark the Magic get back into the game. They eventually took the lead by as much as nine points in the third quarter.
There was no getting away. Not with John Wall there and not with the Wizards able to constantly find a way to cut back into the lead. Wall scored 21 points and added 11 assists. Nene came off the bench for 12 points. It was a rough go for Washington too, but the experienced team did not give in and brought an urgency on offense to finish the game out.
The Magic just did not have that at the end. And when you are not the aggressor bad things can happen.
Every break went away from the Magic on Wednesday night. The somberness in the locker room and from Jacque Vaughn showed this team was not happy with just being in the game. This was a bad loss, one that will be tough to forget.
“They are a top team in the East,” Harris said. “They are playing some of the best basketball in the league. For us to have that game and let it slip away is extremely disappointing. We just have to be mentally strong and get back and learn from it and get it back going.”
Another chance to execute against a good team comes Friday, at least.
