The Orlando Magic did a lot of things right against the Golden State Warriors. They defended, they battled on the glass, they forced extra possessions and they gave themselves a real shot to steal a game they badly needed. But in overtime, when the margin got tight and Stephen Curry kept doing Stephen Curry things, Orlando ran out of answers.
That left the Magic with a 126-119 overtime loss and another frustrating night in a season that has already had too many of them. Franz Wagner carried the offense with 30 points and 11 assists, while Curry answered with 41 points on 13-for-19 shooting and 5-for-10 from three.
Orlando had enough moments to make the game interesting. It just didn’t have the final punch.
For much of the night, the Magic won the kind of game they’ve struggled to win all season: the possession battle. They finished with just 14 turnovers, and those giveaways led to only 10 points for Golden State. They also allowed only three offensive rebounds, which turned into just two second-chance points.
On the other end, Orlando made the Warriors pay for sloppiness. The Magic forced 19 turnovers and turned them into 26 points.
They also piled up 33 second-chance points off 24 offensive rebounds. In total, Orlando beat Golden State 134-111 on field goal and free throw attempts combined, with a 113-80 edge in field goal attempts.
That kind of control gave the Magic a real path to victory, especially on a night when the shots weren’t falling. Orlando shot 38.1 percent overall and went 18-for-54 from three, a 33.3 percent clip that still wasn’t enough to offset the rough stretches. The first half was especially ugly, with the Magic going 7-for-26 from deep before finding a little more rhythm later.
The comeback came with a clearer formula. Orlando started attacking the paint first, and the perimeter looks began to open up as a result.
The threes mattered more once the inside game set the table. The Magic went 9-for-23 from three in the second half and used that stretch to claw back into the game and briefly take control late in the third quarter.
Still, the broader issue remains the same. Orlando simply is not shooting well enough to make life easy on itself, no matter how hard it works to create opportunities. The offense is still a grind, and the Magic are still searching for a way to make enough shots to back up the rest of their effort.
The bench gave them a real lift in this one, which mattered because the non-Franz Wagner starters were a combined 2-for-27 from the floor in the first half. Jamal Cain delivered his first career double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds and was one of the few players who could get anything going early.
Jevon Carter knocked down three important 3-pointers in the first half. Goga Bitadze brought energy in the second half with his work on the glass and around the basket.
That support helped keep Orlando afloat, even with the team still short on reliable scoring behind its top options. The Magic entered the game 23rd in the league in bench scoring at 31.1 points per game, and the group is still not close to being a strength. But on this night, it mattered.
The game also took a hit in overtime when Jase Richardson and Anthony Black left with apparent knocks, leaving the Magic even thinner as the finish line approached. Curry kept coming, and after Wendell Carter missed a pair of free throws late, the Warriors star answered with another tough runner to push Golden State ahead by four with too little time left.
Carter was otherwise a force, controlling the paint on both ends and making only that late free-throw misfire. But the Magic couldn’t recover from the final Curry burst.
Orlando got plenty of good things out of this one. It just didn’t get the one it needed most. Now sitting at 2-7, the Magic are still looking for the kind of complete effort that turns close losses into something more.
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Jamal Cain Just Gave The Magic A Rotation Question They Needed
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Sean Sweeney had plenty to like from Cains effort, especially the rebounding and energy that helped keep Orlando in the game late. The performance leaves the Magic with a worthwhile question moving forward: whether Cains latest burst was a one-night spark or the start of a larger role in a rotation that still has room for answers. [Read more 🡒]
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Suggs is set to miss his seventh consecutive game when the Magic meet the Sacramento Kings, adding to a stretch in which Orlando has also had to manage Paolo Bancheros right high ankle sprain. There is at least one encouraging sign in the form of Desmond Bane returning to practice after an illness, but the bigger question remains when the Magic will finally get Suggs back in the lineup. [Read more 🡒]