Magic Dismantled by Trail Blazers to Open Road Trip

Heading west for a five-game swing, the Orlando Magic hoped to turn the tide on an unforgiving month.
Entering Thursday's game at Portland, Orlando was 4-10 in January and 5-12 since Christmas.
But a change in geography did not produce a change in fortune: The Magic lost 119-90 to the Trail Blazers. The Western Conference's 13-seed swept the season series over Orlando by a combined 51 points.
The Magic are 24-25 — the first time below .500 since early November — and they are 3-17 in games in which they failed to eclipse 100 points.
Orlando's worrying trend of wasting strong starts continued Thursday. The Magic bolted to a 10-0 start en route to 35 first-quarter points.
Then, a switch flipped. The offense stagnated and Orlando's tone-setting defense wilted.
"They turned up the heat on us. We turned it over," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said postgame. "We didn't respond well to their aggression.
"That was not an Orlando Magic-played basketball game. We were soft. We got punked, and it's not who we are."
The Blazers outscored the Magic 34-18 in the second quarter to take a nine-point lead into the half. Coming out of the break, Orlando got punished for being flat and was blitzed 29-20 in the third quarter.
"We saw a few possessions, whether it was offensively or defensively, not go our way and I think we just started being a little tentative, second-guessing ourselves, not being as aggressive [or] as sure with all of our movements," Cole Anthony said. "It looked like there was doubt, and we were just kind of hesitant on everything we wanted to do.
"It just turned into them punking us," Anthony continued. "That's what it felt like."
Led by 23 points from both Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe, the Blazers shot 52.6 percent from the field, made 12 of 25 threes and went 25-of-31 from the free-throw line.
By the numbers, the Magic's collapse was dramatic:
- 15 made field goals in the first quarter, then 19 in the next three quarters;
- 13 team assists (no Magic player had more than three);
- 5-of-26 on three-point attempts.
Orlando was without Jalen Suggs, who missed his second straight game with a left quad contusion. Without his energy, The Magic struggled to contain Portland's guards and posted a defensive rating of 132.2, their second-worst defensive performance of the season.
Up Next
The Magic make their lone stop in Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Jazz. Tipoff from the Delta Center is at 5 p.m. ET Saturday, Feb 1. Full Schedule
Related Stories on the Orlando Magic
- MAGIC AIM TO RECTIFY LATE-GAME WOES: Orlando is struggling to close games as of late, they said Wednesday. Out west, they want to change that. CLICK HERE
- BITADZE BRINGS INSTANT IMPACT: In his first game back from concussion protocol, Goga Bitadze was neither "dusty" or "rusty" for the Magic. CLICK HERE
- da SILVA, McCLUNG NAMED RISING STARS: Orlando will have two representatives at NBA All-Star Weekend in mid-February. CLICK HERE
- 3 MAGIC GAMES RESCHEDULED: See the latest updates to Orlando's schedule. CLICK HERE
- MAGIC MUST TAKE HARSH LESSONS IN STRIDE: A "second training camp" is forcing the Magic to learn on the fly and overcome speedbumps all at once. CLICK HERE
Want more Orlando Magic coverage on Sports Illustrated?
Follow 'Orlando Magic on SI' on Facebook and like our page. Follow Magic beat reporter Mason Williams on Twitter/X @mvsonwilliams. Also, bookmark our homepage so you never miss a story.