Magic Offense Misfires Repeatedly in Ugly Loss to Jazz

Playing without their top four scorers, the lethargic Orlando Magic lost 105-92 to the Utah Jazz and fell to 21-16 this season.

Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton (2) takes a shot while Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony (50) defends at Kia Center. / Russell Lansford-Imagn Images

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Magic's loss Sunday night to the Utah Jazz can be boiled down to two words: missed opportunities.

With each team playing without four double-digit scorers, baskets were hard to come by in a 43-all first half. But Utah came out of the intermission with a 7-2 run and, thanks to the Magic's misfires, gradually built a 20-point lead.

No Orlando runs would materialize, and with a 105-92 win, Utah swept weekend games in Miami and Orlando to improve to 9-25. The loss dropped the Magic to 21-16.

"They hit a lot of good ones," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said postgame regarding the Jazz's decisive third quarter. "You've got to give them credit for the way in which they came out. They turned it up. We missed a lot of long shots, led to long rebounds. They were out on the break, and their ability to just keep pressing forward and attack it — I think that was a big portion of it."

After burying 19 triples in Friday night's win over Toronto, the Magic returned to earth Sunday, shooting 35.7 percent from the field — including 18-of-41 in the paint. Orlando scored only 37 points in the middle two quarters.

"We've said it from the beginning of the year: We don't want to allow offense to dictate our offense," Mosley said. "I think a little bit of that happened tonight. The shots were not falling. There were some wide-open, great looks. They didn't go in. ... That's going to happen on different nights."

With three of Orlando's missing players being 6-foot-10 or taller, Utah's size advantage with Walker Kessler (10 points, 17 rebounds) and Kyle Filipowski (12 points, seven rebounds) was evident. The Jazz outscored the Magic 52-36 in the lane and outrebounded them 62-51. Orlando's defense forced 21 turnovers, but the Magic converted them into only 19 points.

"They did outrebound us as a total, but our guys trying to fight and get in there, you know, for the most part — the way we started I think was okay," Mosley said. "I think we could have done more, but again, that's part of the way this league is."

Jett Howard set a career high with 21 points off the Magic's bench. Wendell Carter Jr. (15), Cole Anthony (12) and Trevelin Queen (11) joined the second-year guard in double figures.

Orlando native Brice Sensabaugh led the Jazz's scoring efforts with 27 points off the Utah bench.

A loss to the nine-win Jazz is unexpected. Should the Magic look back at the end of the season searching for times when a needed win or two went astray, this result will be an easy one to circle. But evaluating this team, in its current state during an 82-game season, is tough right now.

The shorthanded roster isn't an excuse, Mosley said, and it wasn't part of why Orlando lost Sunday. Utah took advantage of a lethargic Magic team that was lulled into playing down to their level. Games against New York, Minnesota and Milwaukee loom later this week, with Philadelphia, Milwaukee again, Boston and Denver waiting beyond that. Circling back to the theme of missed opportunities, Orlando should recognize this as one.

But with the challenging immediate outlook, the Magic will have to quickly course-correct. Help is on the way soon enough, and the league won't wait for them to figure things out.

"You can't hang your head too long," Mosley said, "because you gotta bounce right back and go to New York and get another one."

Up Next

The Magic visit the New York Knicks on Monday night for the second half of a back-to-back. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden.

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