The Orlando Magic overcame the problem for almost a month, however they couldn’t in Monday’s 123-102 street loss to the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
They ran out of fuel.
Their lack of wholesome gamers appeared to have caught as much as them and performed a major consider Monday’s defeat, the primary blowout loss for the Magic (5-13) this season.
Already with out 5 gamers to begin the street journey, the Magic completed the sport with out Wendell Carter Jr., Chuma Okeke and Jalen Suggs.
Carter didn’t play due to a strained proper plantar fascia (mushy tissue beneath the foot). Okeke was dominated out within the third quarter with left knee soreness. Sugg wasn’t formally dominated out, however exited early within the fourth after showing to harm his proper ankle.
This exacerbated the Magic’s on-court points Monday, with Orlando at instances executing the sport plan or enjoying with the vitality essential to win — one thing that occurs to each staff over the course of an NBA season however solely made extra obvious due to the accidents.
Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers (10-6) with 18 factors and 14 assists in 27 minutes. Ben Mathurin scored a game-high 22 factors off the bench.
Franz Wagner had 22 factors, 6 rebounds and three assists whereas Gary Harris had 18 factors off the bench for the Magic.
Carter didn’t take part within the staff’s morning shoot round and was a gametime choice earlier than being dominated out 2½ hours forward of tipoff for his third absence in 4 video games due to the damage.
Coach Jamahl Mosley stated Carter didn’t undergo his pregame routine earlier than being dominated out.
“All I know is that it was hurting this morning,” Mosley stated. “I’d rather error on the side of caution vs. him trying to test it again.”
Carter instructed the Orlando Sentinel he plans to get his foot checked out by a health care provider as soon as the staff returns to Central Florida.
He hopes to be accessible for Friday’s house recreation vs. the Philadelphia 76ers at Amway Center.
Carter additionally was a gametime choice for Saturday’s loss to the Pacers however was dominated out lower than an hour earlier than tipoff after trying to undergo his pregame warmup.
“A combination of both,” Mosley beforehand stated when requested if Carter’s ailment is extra about ache administration vs. additional injuring the foot. “There’s pain there — a lot of pain there. He’s playing through it, which is something he’s done before. Just making sure it doesn’t get any worse.”
Carter instructed the Sentinel forward of Friday’s street win over the Chicago Bulls that he had been coping with his damage for 5-6 video games earlier than being sidelined for the primary time throughout Wednesday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
He had 21 factors, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in 34 minutes Friday.
“It just got really bad last game and just didn’t feel comfortable getting out there,” he added. “Knowing my physique, figuring out once I bought ache I’m going to begin favoring stuff, I didn’t wish to find yourself hurting one thing else as a result of I’m favoring one thing on my foot.
“There’s really no specific thing you can put on it to stop it from hurting. It’s just about tolerance, putting heat on it and stuff like that.”
Cole Anthony (torn proper inside indirect), Paolo Banchero (sprained left ankle), Markelle Fultz (fractured left large toe), Jonathan Isaac (left knee damage restoration) and Moe Wagner (sprained proper midfoot) stay out.
Monday’s Magic-Pacers matchup was the second in three nights in Indianapolis.
It was the Magic’s first “baseball-style series” of the season — when two groups play consecutive video games on the similar venue with no journey in between.
They have 5 extra of those collection remaining: vs. 76ers in Orlando (Friday and Sunday); vs. Toronto Raptors in Orlando (Dec. 9 and 11); at Celtics in Boston (Dec. 16 and 18); at 76ers in Philadelphia (Jan. 30 and Feb. 1); vs. Cavaliers in Orlando (April 4 and 6).
“I love these situations,” Mosley stated. “They do teach a young team how [to] adjust and what adjustments you need to make. Did you do the game plan correctly? Or was it some of your own mistakes that you made or the things you did right? You’re able to assess it right away.”
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at [email protected] or observe him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com