Magic's 'Laxed' Third Quarter Costs Them in Overtime Loss vs. Kings

The Orlando Magic fought hard against the Sacramento Kings, building a massive 20-point lead. However, the lead was gone as fast as it was built. And it led to another loss Saturday.

Jeremy Brener | Nov 6, 2022

Magic's 'Laxed' Third Quarter Costs Them in Overtime Loss vs. Kings /

ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic is back in the loss column after a buzzer-beating 126-123 loss to the Sacramento Kings Saturday evening at the Amway Center.

In an overtime game, every possession and bucket counts, but it didn't appear like it would be that way when the Magic took an 18-point lead to the locker room at halftime. However, their advantage would be squandered in the third quarter after the Kings went on a 31-10 run to completely shift the momentum.

"I think the third quarter to me was the main stretch that got them back in the game," head coach Jamahl Mosley said. "You look at a 36-12 quarter where we came out a little bit laxed, turn the ball over a couple times, not expecting them to fight back. I think that was a big portion of the game."

Giving up big leads has become a pattern for the Magic now. When the Magic played the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, an 18-0 run sent Orlando into a tailspin and allowed them to fumble a very winnable game. Now, for the second time in three games, it's happened again.

"We were up, and we were just happy with being up... But there was a whole 24 minutes left. The energy just shifted when they came out hot."

Young teams like the Magic deal with growing pains all the time. This is nothing new. However, seeing Orlando repeat mistakes, especially twice in the same week, show how close the Magic is, but also how far the team has left to go in order to get to where it wants to be.

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Published Nov 6, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.