3 Straight Road Losses for Orlando as Doncic, Mavs Make Quick Work of Magic

The Dallas Mavericks turned a competitive game into a rout with a 46-13 first-half run and coasted to a 108-85 victory Sunday night against the Orlando Magic. There is no time for the Magic to dwell on their third consecutive road loss. They play Monday night at Oklahoma City.

Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) looks to move the ball past Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford (21) during the second quarter at the American Airlines Center. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Sunday night against the Dallas Mavericks, the Orlando Magic had the type of start they'd like to bottle.

After four minutes, Orlando led 15-8 on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and were playing with the intensity necessary to compete with the Western Conference champions and prevent a third consecutive loss on the road.

Still adjusting to life without leading scorer Paolo Banchero, the Magic looked determined to find themselves a little bit.

But as coach Jamahl Mosley has hammered home frequently, games are 48 minutes. And when the Magic's shooting cooled, they lost control. In the process, they lost themselves.

From the 4:41 mark in the first quarter to the 2:30 mark in the second, Dallas outscored Orlando 46-13. That avalanche effectively ended the drama. Orlando lost 108-85 and fell to 3-4 on the season.

"We started off well," Mosley said, "I liked our energy. I liked our spirit. I think we missed a couple layups right around the rim and that led to a lot of easy run-outs for them along with the shotmaking, or lack thereof.

"I thought we got some great looks," Mosley added. "I mean, we were 18-for-40 in the paint ... it's hard to overcome. A lot of those missed shots lead to run-outs because you have guys at the rim. We just gotta make sure you finish. Go in there aggressively, finish the play."

As Mosley noted, Orlando's shooting was woeful: 31-of-93 (33.3%) from the field and 8-of-41 (19.5%) from three.

Dallas won points in the paint 52-36 and followed a now-familiar blueprint for scoring on the Magic this year – run past them. Dallas' 19 fast-break points easily cleared Orlando's 12.

"[Dallas] played a lot in transition," forward Franz Wagner said. "Like in other losses that we had, didn't think we did a good job of getting back. And then, I don't think we found our rhythm in that first half. I thought we got some decent looks, but we gotta stay a little bit more emotionally stable when some good shots don't fall."

Wagner's 13 points were the high mark for the Magic. Jett Howard (12), Jalen Suggs (10) and Moritz Wagner (10) also reached double figures. Dallas star Luka Doncic had 32, and got double-digit contributions from Daniel Gafford (18), Kyrie Irving (17) and Dereck Lively II (11).

Wendell Carter Jr. returned to the starting lineup after missing one game with right knee tendonitis but clearly struggled. During the second-quarter landslide, Carter Jr. left the game for good with a strain of his left plantar fascia. As he limped to the Magic bench, Suggs wrapped an arm over his emotionally distraught teammate in an attempt to lift his spirits.

Magic center Goga Bitadze (left foot tendon strain) missed his fourth consecutive game. Mosley said he thinks Bitadze is "progressing in the right direction, but we'll see tomorrow as well."

After scoring 17 points in his first rotational minutes on Friday night at Cleveland, rookie wing Tristan da Silva had his first career start Sunday. He finished with seven points, but Mosley said the Magic's first five could continue to fluctuate based on matchup and situation.

The loss extends Orlando's losing streak in Dallas to 13 games, dating to Jan. 8, 2011. The Magic's record is below .500 for the first time since the end of the 2022-23 season.

Up Next

The Magic's road trip continues with the second night of a back-to-back, making the short trip to Oklahoma City for a matchup with the Thunder. Tipoff is set for 9:15 p.m. ET inside the Paycom Center.

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