The Orlando Magic’s downside of their 110-105 highway loss to the Miami Heat was one which hasn’t been a difficulty shortly.
At the least, it didn’t damage them shortly prefer it did Friday at Miami-Dade Arena.
The Magic’s 20 turnovers weren’t solely their most since their Nov. 14 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, however in addition they led to 32 Heat factors.
“When it comes down to it, you’ve gotta take care of the basketball,” coach Jamahl Mosley mentioned. “I love our fight and I love the fact we were in it. A great environment on the road against a tough team, but you’ve gotta take care of the basketball. We didn’t do that.”
Orlando’s giveaways not solely gave Miami simpler scoring alternatives, however in addition they sapped the Magic of any offensive rhythm Orlando had late.
The Magic shot higher from the sector (47.8% in comparison with 45.9%) and past the arc (35.3% to 30.3%) however completed with 16 fewer subject aim makes an attempt.
Some of this was as a result of the Magic acquired to the free throw line greater than the Heat, capturing 27-of-32 in comparison with Miami’s 22-of-26, however the Heat took higher care of the ball (11 turnovers), giving them extra possibilities to beat their early capturing struggles.
“You don’t give yourself a chance in those possessions,” Mosley mentioned. “This is something we’ve got to learn from. We have to take care of the basketball and give ourselves a chance on that end of the floor.”
The Magic stayed within the recreation regardless of the Heat successful the possession battle. They trailed simply 104-101 after Gary Harris (8 factors, 2 rebounds) hit a 3 with 53.8 seconds remaining.
But Jimmy Butler (29 factors, 6 assists and 6 rebounds) hit a floater over Wendell Carter Jr. (16 factors, 8 rebounds and three assists however fouled out with 24 seconds remaining) to assist shut out the sport.
Butler made 1 of two free throws with 24 seconds left to assist seal the win for the Heat (28-22).
Cole Anthony, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner all scored team-highs of 19 factors for the Magic (19-30).
The Magic’s turnover points began early, with Orlando having 5 giveaways halfway via the primary, permitting the Heat to take a 17-9 lead.
They took higher care of the ball to shut out the primary half (8 whole first-half giveaways), taking a 59-50 lead heading into the third after Anthony scored 17 factors within the opening two quarters.
The Magic’s ball retention solely acquired worse from there.
They had 5 turnovers within the third resulting in 9 Heat factors, permitting Miami to chop the result in 79-73 heading into the fourth.
The Magic had 7 giveaways within the fourth quarter, resulting in 12 Heat factors, together with a turnover on their closing inbounds play to seal the loss.
“It was all self-inflicted wounds,” mentioned Anthony in regard to the Heat having the league’s second-best takeaway price. “I don’t think they were doing anything too spectacular to do that. They’re a good defensive team, but it was just careless on our part.”
Jonathan Isaac wasn’t accessible in opposition to the Heat due to left knee damage administration, with Friday’s recreation being the primary night time of a back-to-back.
The Magic play the Chicago Bulls at Amway Center on Saturday.
“This decision we’ve talked about — how his body responds to things, and obviously not playing on back-to-backs,” Mosley mentioned. “He’ll sit tonight and will most likely will be ready to go tomorrow.”
Isaac performed his first NBA recreation in over 2½ years in Monday’s win over the Boston Celtics, recording 10 factors (4-for-7 capturing, 2 of three on 3-pointers), 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 help in 10 minutes.
He had 5 factors (2-for-4 capturing, 1 of two on 3s), 2 assists and a pair of steals in 8 minutes in Wednesday’s win over the Indiana Pacers.
Not being accessible for each video games of a back-to-back set is commonplace for gamers getting back from prolonged damage absences.
On Friday, the Magic formally assigned third-year guard R.J. Hampton and rookie ahead Caleb Houstan to the group’s G League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic..
Lakeland performs back-to-back dwelling video games in opposition to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants Friday and Saturday.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at [email protected] or comply with him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com