Why Jamahl Mosley 'Loved' Orlando Magic's Win vs. Chicago Bulls

The Orlando Magic snuck a win against the Chicago Bulls on the road thanks to Paolo Banchero's late-game heroics, which were praised postgame by Jamahl Mosley.

The Orlando Magic have the fourth-youngest roster in the entire league, and games like their narrow win against the Chicago Bulls showcased how youth can be a double-edged sword.

After heading into the half up 17 points, the Magic was able to maintain a solid lead until the end of the third quarter, when the Bulls slowly started chipping away at their lead. Orlando’s youth showed when a 19-point lead became a tie game with 7.5 seconds left.

Paolo Banchero (9) hits a game-winning shot over Alex Caruso (6) / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

In the final seconds, Paolo Banchero decided that winning is more fun than losing and sunk a fadeaway jumper to seal the game for Orlando.

After the game, coach Jamahl Mosley praised his young team’s determination. 

“I loved our guys’ resolve at the end, you know, understanding we’ve been in these scenarios before and it’s why we do the two-minute drills,” Mosley said. “Did it go perfectly? No, but that’s what the will of this team is, that they’ll find a way. That was a big time, big time poise play by Paolo to get in there and finish the play at the end of the game”

If things did go perfectly, Orlando would have held its double-digit lead and sent the game to garbage time. Instead, the starters had to return to the court and use all 48 minutes to beat Chicago.

After splitting back-to-back games, the Magic is at 6-5 before rematching against the Bulls on Friday, still in Chicago. Friday’s matchup will be on the firetruck-red In-Season Tournament Court, as Orlando looks to get its first win in the inaugural event.