Magic outlast Nets to win 6th straight
Published in Basketball
NEW YORK — Before the Orlando Magic met the Brooklyn Nets for the third time this season Sunday at Barclays Center, Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley was asked what his message to his team would be to make sure they’re focused on the game at hand.
His straightforward answer repeated the question.
“Focus on the game tonight,” Mosley said prior to tip-off. “There’s no other way to put it.”
Despite 20 lead changes and a funky flow due to the teams each taking 30-plus free throws, the Magic instead found a way to win 100-92 over the Nets.
The 8-point victory is Orlando’s sixth straight, 12th in its last 13 games and its third over Brooklyn (9-12) this season. The Magic defeated the Nets on Friday by 23 points.
“Rough,” Mosley said when asked to describe the final few minutes against the Nets. “But with it being as rough as it was, with there not being a real rhythm to the game, the poise that these guys showed is just the mark of a team that continues to grow.”
The Magic (15-7) now shift their focus to an NBA Cup contest against the New York Knicks (11-8) at Madison Square Garden that’ll air exclusively on TNT and determine the winner of East Group A in the league’s in-season tournament.
Starting five
Mosley stuck with the same first group on the floor — Jalen Suggs, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr. and Goga Bitadze — as the past three contests.
Despite a poor shooting performance from the field, Wagner (four of 17 FG) went 12 of 14 at the free throw line and nearly had a triple-double with nine rebounds and eight assists.
It marked his 17th of the season with at least 20 points.
Caldwell-Pope made 4 3-pointers for the third game in a row when he finished with 16 point.
Bitadze recorded his sixth double-double of the year (team-high) with 12 points and 13 rebounds and was on the positive end of multiple alley-oop dunks with Wagner.
Foul trouble
Suggs (12 points) fouled out his 52.7 seconds remaining in the contest. It marked his second game in a row with six personal fouls.
He was one of six Magic players to commit at least three fouls. Brooklyn had seven of its own.
Jonathan Isaac picked up three fouls in the first quarter, two of which came on the offensive end of the floor. He re-entered the game late in the second quarter but was back on the bench soon after when he committed his fourth foul just 23 seconds later.
Carter and Bitadze each racked up four fouls.
For the Nets, Nic Claxton and Jalen Wilson both picked up five fouls. Claxton picked up a flagrant 2 foul and was ejected with 18 seconds left in the game when he made contact with Franz Wagner’s face.
Block party
The Magic entered Sunday’s slate second in the league with 6.9 blocks.
They had four in the first quarter alone and finished with 11 blocks. Those denials were in addition to 10 steals.
Orlando also had 13 blocks and 13 steals against Brooklyn on Friday night.
It marks only the second time in team history that Orlando has had 10-plus steals and 10-plus blocks in consecutive games (Nov. 6-8, 2019).
Rookie watch
Tristan da Silva remained in the rotation playing with Anthony Black, Jett Howard, Cole Anthony, Isaac and Moe Wagner off the bench.
The No. 18 pick continued to provide consistent, reliable production with four points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal despite missing all five of his long-range attempts in 23 minutes.
Up next …
Magic at Knicks
When: 7:30 p.m. ET, Tuesday, Madison Square Garden
TV: TNT
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