Magic Aim to Rectify Late-Game Woes as Team Heads West
![Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) drives to the basket against Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the fourth quarter at Kaseya Center. Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) drives to the basket against Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the fourth quarter at Kaseya Center.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4144,h_2331,x_0,y_11/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/the_magic_insider/01jjt64j65exes1s2en1.jpg)
ORLANDO, Fla. – Of the 34 remaining regular season games and however many the postseason could bring, the Orlando Magic picture a lot of situations similar to Monday night's in Miami.
Up 12 points on the Miami Heat with six minutes to play in their building, the Magic seemed well on their way to a signature win. But Orlando's advantage slipped down the stretch, eventually falling in double overtime to the hosts.
Had the Magic held on, they'd have secured the season series and been granted the tiebreaker over their in-division, in-state rivals. Instead, they split their four meetings at two a side.
With that fresh on their minds, the Magic's Wednesday practice at the AdventHealth Training Center – the last one before a five-game West Coast swing tips off Thursday night in Portland – featured a heavy focus on alleviating their recent end-of-game woes.
"We got the chance to run up and down a little bit, just going through some late-game scenarios where we're kind of struggling at right now to finish games," said Kentavious Caldwell-Pope after the session. "We maybe turn the ball over or [we're] moving a little too fast, so just working on that and trying to see what we can get, and just being patient."
Added Caldwell-Pope: "At the end of games, teams speed us up. We're making plays that's not there, or we're trying to force something instead of taking an open shot or open play that's there. I think we just have to be patient, slow down and try to get a shot every time down the floor."
Using the Heat loss as an example, the Magic were up 103-91 with 6:28 to play in the fourth quarter. From there through the final buzzer after the second overtime period, the Magic shot 7-25 from the field, missed 10 of their 11 threes and had six turnovers to just four assists as their offense stalled.
"Our spacing," third-year forward Paolo Banchero said when asked where he felt Orlando hopes to improve in closing situations. "Figuring out where people are supposed to be at the right time, and then also just getting on the same page [with our] communication on what we're trying to run [and] being intentional about what we're trying to get done in the possession."
Meanwhile, as the Magic struggled, Miami assisted on 12 of their 14 made field goals, drilled 5-of-11 three-point attempts and turned the ball over only four times. After leading by as many as 14 points earlier in the quarter, it was just the second time in 20 games this year that Orlando has led by double figures in the final 12 minutes and gone on to lose.
The only other instance? Orlando led the same Heat team by 17 points less than seven minutes into the December 26 meeting and started the fourth quarter up 10 before Miami's late comeback win. Including that result and Monday's, the Magic have lost 12 of their last 17 games.
Seven of the last 17 games have entered the "clutch" – scenarios where the score is within five points in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime. The Magic are 12-8 in such contests overall but just 3-4 during this past month of prolonged struggles.
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said his team's practice Wednesday had "a great competitive spirit about it." Then, like two of his team's most important players, he mentioned the importance of their late-game execution.
"We're going to be in a lot of late games," the fourth-year coach said. "Us understanding what we need to do in those moments is going to be very important. I thought it was a very good practice for that."
When Caldwell-Pope, a 12-year veteran who's been in five locker rooms around the NBA, was asked about the characteristics that teams who go through lulls and escape them share, he said: "Togetherness, I would say. Just staying together no matter what we go through, ups and downs. Some guys might come in [and] it might not be their day, and just being there for your brothers and helping them out in any way we can, just staying the course. Eventually, we'll get ourselves up out of there."
The first chance Orlando could have to see if they've solved their late-game issues could come out west. The Magic will visit Portland, Utah, Golden State, Sacramento and Denver for a stretch of five games in eight days. Despite having only seen only three of the five opponents thus far, Orlando is 0-3 in those games – all of which in the aforementioned recent 17-game stretch.
"Just going to have to be really close and together," Banchero said. "'Obviously would like to win all five, but just try and improve over the course of the trip."
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