The Magic left Chase Center with a familiar kind of frustration: a competitive performance that still wasn’t enough, another loss added to an injury-hit start, and a reminder that the margin for error is tiny when the roster is stretched thin.
Orlando pushed Golden State to overtime on Saturday after erasing a 16-point third-quarter deficit, but the Warriors closed stronger and pulled away for a 126-119 win. The result gave Golden State its seventh straight victory and sent the Magic to their fourth consecutive loss.
With Paolo Banchero out because of a right high ankle sprain, Jalen Suggs sidelined by a right knee bone bruise and Desmond Bane missing the game with an illness, Orlando had to grind for everything. The Magic did enough to make it a fight, but not enough to finish it.
“I don’t think we were able to get as many stops as we needed, obviously,” Magic forward Franz Wagner said when he was asked what gave Golden State the edge in overtime. “It’s fair to say they’ve got one of the best players in the league on the team. We weren’t able in those critical moments to get two stops and a couple scores in a row.”
That “best player” was Stephen Curry, who took over late with 41 points. He scored 19 of them in the fourth quarter and overtime, hit five 3-pointers and made all 10 of his free throws while repeatedly finding space on the perimeter and on cuts to the rim.
Orlando’s problem wasn’t just Curry’s brilliance. The Magic made life harder on themselves by needing 113 shot attempts to get 43 baskets, while Golden State matched that total in only 80 tries.
Orlando’s 113 field goal attempts tied a franchise record for a single game, matching a mark last reached on Nov. 9, 1994, at Charlotte. On the other side, the Warriors became the first team since Nov. 21, 1981, to win a game while attempting 33 or fewer fewer field goals than their opponent, according to the team.
The Magic also left points on the table at the line. In a seven-point defeat, they missed six free throws, including three by Wendell Carter Jr. in overtime. Even with a massive 33-2 edge in second-chance points, Orlando shot just 12-for-22 on those opportunities.
“They have one of the best players in the world on their team and he capitalized in crunch time,” Magic forward Jamal Cain said. “But I’m happy with how we competed.
We competed the whole game. We gave ourselves the chance to win, but they’ve got (Curry) on the other side.”
Wagner echoed that view while also pointing to what the team can take from the night.
“He had a hell of a game. But I think we can take a lot of good things from tonight and a lot of things we can build on.”
There were real positives for Orlando, starting with the work on the boards. Cain finished with 12 rebounds and Carter added 11, helping the Magic win the rebounding battle 57-42. Orlando also owned the offensive glass 24-3, and seven different players pulled down at least four rebounds.
“We saw a number of guys crashing from the perimeter the way we want to,” coach Sean Sweeney said. “We’ve got to keep that up. The more opportunities, the more bites at the apple you get, the better chances you (have) to get something done.”
The Magic were also cleaner with the ball than they were two nights earlier in Phoenix, where they turned it over 25 times. Against the Warriors, they committed 14 turnovers that led to 10 Golden State points.
“A point of emphasis for us was taking care of it and we got those turnovers way down,” Sweeney said. “So, we’ve got to keep doing that.”
Orlando now heads to Sacramento on Tuesday night before finishing its four-game road trip the next night at Utah. The Magic are 2-7 and still waiting for reinforcements, though there was at least some hope on that front after Bane’s absence with an undisclosed illness.
There was also a possible injury scare involving Anthony Black. Sweeney said Black had a cramp when he left with 2:47 remaining in overtime and did not return. Black appeared to be getting his left leg worked on while on the bench.
Monday also brings the end of the two-week re-evaluation window for Suggs, who suffered the knee bone bruise on Oct. 25 at New York. That doesn’t guarantee a return, but it should give the team more clarity as the road trip winds down.
For now, the message is simple: Orlando has to keep squeezing every bit out of these games while the roster is short-handed.
“I thought a lot of guys stepped up and played really aggressive,” Wagner said. “We’ll need everybody to play like that. I think (we made) big improvements in a lot of areas.
“Obviously, (it was) tough to not come out with the win, but we’ll build on it.”
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