The Orlando Magic came into this one looking to bounce back from a blowout loss, and for much of the night, they gave themselves a shot. The energy was there.
The defense had its moments. But when it came time to make shots and close the gap, they simply couldn’t buy a bucket-and the Cleveland Cavaliers made sure they paid for it.
Trailing by just eight late in the third quarter, the Magic were still very much in the fight. But that’s when the Cavs, and specifically Donovan Mitchell, took control.
Mitchell sliced through the defense for back-to-back layups, sandwiched around a tough pull-up three from Paolo Banchero that never had a chance. Thomas Bryant capped the run with a triple of his own, and just like that, Cleveland had stretched the lead to 12 heading into the fourth.
That stretch was a microcosm of the night: Orlando got looks, but couldn’t convert. Cleveland?
They made the ones that mattered. And when the dust settled, it was a 119-105 loss at home-the Magic’s third straight defeat and another reminder of their biggest flaw: scoring the basketball.
Offense Still the Achilles’ Heel
The story starts-and ends-with the offense. Orlando finished the night shooting just 40.7% from the field and a rough 27.5% from beyond the arc (11-of-40). That translated to a 105.0 offensive rating, which simply won’t cut it in today’s NBA, especially against a team like Cleveland that can turn defense into instant offense.
This isn’t a new issue. The Magic have been one of the league’s more offensively challenged teams all season.
And while the effort and energy were better than in Thursday’s loss, it’s hard to maintain that edge when the shots aren’t falling. As Paolo Banchero noted earlier this week, it’s human nature-miss after miss can sap the life out of even the best defensive schemes.
You could see it play out in real time. In the first half, the Magic went 3-of-10 from deep while the Cavs connected on 4-of-9.
That small edge helped Cleveland build an early cushion. Then in the third, the Cavs started hitting from deep again while Orlando’s offense stalled.
And just like that, the game slipped away.
“We had a great process of getting open looks,” head coach Jamahl Mosley said postgame. “You just got to step in and knock them down. That’s a big portion of it.”
He’s not wrong. The ball movement was there.
The looks were there. But the confidence?
That’s still a work in progress. And when shooters hesitate or second-guess, it shows.
Flashes of Fight, But Not Enough Firepower
There were bright spots. Jalen Suggs, back in the lineup, brought his trademark intensity and chipped in nine points with six assists on 3-of-6 shooting.
Moe Wagner looked more comfortable, adding 13 points and six boards. Desmond Bane led the team with 20 points on an efficient 7-of-14 from the field, doing his best to keep the offense afloat.
And then there was Banchero. He struggled through the first three quarters-just 2-of-9 from the field-but stayed aggressive, getting to the line 10 times and converting eight.
In the fourth, he came alive, scoring 15 of his 27 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting. He gave the Magic a real chance to make a run.
But the hill had already grown too steep. Mitchell continued to carve up the defense, getting into the paint at will. And every time the Magic looked poised to close the gap, Cleveland answered with a timely shot.
That’s where Orlando’s margin for error is razor-thin. When the offense sputters, everything else has to be near-perfect. And right now, the defense isn’t quite sharp enough to carry them through those cold spells.
Searching for a Spark
The Magic aren’t lacking effort. They’re not lacking belief.
But they are lacking consistency-especially from the perimeter. And in today’s NBA, that’s a tough gap to overcome.
“We’re getting the looks that we want,” Mosley reiterated. “You have to continue to be able to step in with confidence and knock them down.”
It’s a familiar refrain, and it’s not wrong. But at some point, the shots have to fall.
The Magic’s identity is still built on defense and hustle, but their energy is clearly tied to their offense. When the ball goes in, everything flows.
When it doesn’t, the wheels start to wobble.
This loss wasn’t about a lack of fight. It wasn’t about bad schemes or poor effort.
It came down to a simple truth: the Magic missed shots, and the Cavs didn’t. Cleveland hit the big ones when it mattered.
Orlando didn’t.
And until the Magic find a way to flip that script-until they can count on their offense to keep them in games-they’ll keep running into the same frustrating wall. The process may be improving.
The effort is there. But the results?
Still elusive.