Magic close out road trip with loss to Nuggets after Jokić’s game-winner
The Orlando Magic’s season-long road trip ended in heartbreaking fashion, with a Nikola Jokić game-winning 3-pointer giving the Denver Nuggets a 119-116 win Sunday at Ball Arena.
The Magic had mixed results during the swing that led to them being 2-2 on the road entering Sunday.
Stout defensive play highlighted the wins over the Golden State Warriors (Jan. 7) and Portland Trail Blazers (Tuesday) while inconsistencies in different areas led to losses to the Sacramento Kings (Monday) and Utah Jazz (Friday).
The inconsistencies were even noticeable against the Nuggets.
In the first half, the Magic struggled with scoring in the paint and transition defense. They only scored 16 points in the paint and allowed Denver to score 19 fastbreak points in the first two quarters to trail 69-54 at halftime.
From there, the Magic locked in. They picked up their tempo, played with more energy defensively and attacked the paint more.
They forced 8 third-quarter turnovers and scored 9 fastbreak points in the third — double the number of fastbreak points they had at halftime (4).
The Magic scored their first 6 points of the second half in the paint and matched the first-half paint-scoring total within the first seven minutes of the third, helping them cut the Nuggets’ lead to 94-88 heading into the fourth.
Orlando stayed dialed in, starting the fourth with an 8-4 run and eventually taking a 101-100 lead after a Bol Bol putback dunk with 8:27 remaining for the Magic’s first lead since the first.
Even after both teams reloaded with their starters, the Magic stayed with it. Both teams traded buckets, with neither leading by more than 4 for the remainder of the game.
Paolo Banchero (18 points on 5-of-9 shooting, 4 assists) knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Magic a quarter-best 113-109 lead before Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (12 points) knocked down a pull-up 3 to bring the lead down to 113-112 with 1:37 remaining.
Markelle Fultz (20 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals) tied it up at 116 with 14.9 seconds remaining.
But Jokić, the reigning back-to-back MVP, knocked down the stepback 24-footer with 0.2 seconds left to send the Magic back to Central Florida with a 2-3 record on the trip.
Jokić led the Nuggets (30-13) with 17 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds for his league-best 12th triple-double. The victory was the sixth consecutive for the West-leading Denver.
Franz Wagner had 19 points and 5 rebounds, while Bol Bol added 17 points and 6 rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench for the Magic (16-28).
Gary Harris was available and started alongside Fultz, Wagner, Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr. (8 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists) after being listed as questionable because of mallet finger (fifth digit) on his shooting hand.
R.J. Hampton (not with the team), Kevon Harris (transferred to G League as part of his two-way contract), Jonathan Isaac (G League assignment), Chuma Okeke (left knee surgery) and Admiral Schofield (coach’s decision) weren’t available.
Hampton averaged 23.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2 assists in 27.2 minutes during the four games he played in his most recent stint with the organization’s G League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic.
Isaac, who played for Lakeland on Wednesday for his first official basketball game in 892 days, suited up again for Lakeland in Saturday’s 117-100 win over the Greensboro Swarm.
He had 15 points (5-of-14 shooting), 9 rebounds and 2 blocks in 16 minutes off the bench.
When Isaac plays for the NBA team for the first time in 2½ years has yet to be determined.
Isaac missed the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons and half of this season since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Aug. 2, 2020 — more than 29 months since his last game action before Wednesday.
But playing for Lakeland is an encouraging sign that he’ll be suiting up for Orlando in the near future.
The Magic will play their first home game after the trip on Friday vs. the New Orleans Pelicans at Amway Center.
Magic honoring Dr. King
The Orlando Magic are honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with week-long volunteerism starting Monday and concluding with an in-game celebration vs. the Pelicans.
As part of the team’s Volunteer Program, the Magic and their approximately 275 staff members will participate in 16 different volunteer opportunities throughout the week.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at khprice@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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