Unhappy New Year Continues as Magic Fall to Wizards

By on January 10, 2016

 

Washington's John Wall (2) works to get the ball before Victor Oladipo. Wall had a double - double with 24 points to lead all scorers and 10 assists. (photo Reinhold Matay / USA TODAY Sports)

Washington’s John Wall (2) works to get the ball before Orlando’s Victor Oladipo. Wall had a double – double with 24 points to lead all scorers and 10 assists. (photo Reinhold Matay / USA TODAY Sports)

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Magic struggled at home on Saturday night, losing to the Washington Wizards 99-105. This loss marks the fifth in the last six games, as well as the 11th straight to the Wizards. Magic point guard Elfrid Payton missed his fourth straight game, with Victor Oladipo getting the start in his place.

This one got out of hand early as the Magic committed six turnovers in the first quarter, which resulted in 12 points for the Wizards. Oladipo, usually a shooting guard, was responsible for six giveaways on the night.

“[Turnovers] happened to us early in the game, exactly what you can’t have happen,” said Magic coach Scott Skiles “Ya know, to turn the ball over around the free throw line against them because they’re explosive on the break.”

The Wizards have certainly had the Magic’s number of late – capping off the season series at 4-0 with Saturday’s win. The two teams will not see each other again this season.

Orlando players seemed acutely aware of the lopsided nature of their rivalry with the Wizards.

“It’s tough. It’s obvious. We know it too.” Said Magic forward Tobias Harris when asked about the streak.

“It seems like we just can’t beat them,” said shooting guard Evan Fournier, “They had like three or four guys out, and we still can’t beat them. I wish I had answers.”

The reason for the Wizards’ success seemed to revolve around a rapid pace, led by All-Star point guard John Wall. Wall scored a game-high 24 points, and made it a double-double with 10 assists.

The Magic struggled to defend all night, with the Wizards’ shooting percentage hovering around 60 for most of the game. Washington finished at 55% from the field and a crippling 56% from three-point range.

Among those benefiting from the three-point barrage were former Suns teammates Channing Frye and Jared Dudley. The pair of forwards had a duel going – Frye for the Magic, and Dudley for the Wizards. Together they shot 11-of-17 for 28 points and 5 treys.

After the Wizards broke a 4-4 tie just two minutes into the game, they would never lose the lead. The closest thing to a Magic comeback occurred when Orlando got within eight points with just five minutes left to play. The Wizards would then extend the lead to 13 and hold on, with the final score being a result of garbage time.

This loss comes at a critical time for the Magic. Because of a scheduling quirk, today marks the halfway point in Orlando’s home season. The Magic are currently in the 9th seed, just a half game back of Boston for a playoff spot.

The Magic (17-16) hope that the upcoming trip across the Atlantic can reignite the fire that led them to the best record in the Eastern Conference in the month of December. They will get a rare four days of rest before taking on the Toronto Raptors at the O2 Arena in London. As a result, the next Magic home game will be January 20th against the 76ers.

1 2 3 4 T
WSH 27 33 25 20 105
ORL 17 32 21 29 99
Washington Wizards
STARTERS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
Jared Dudley, SF 38 6-11 4-6 0-0 1 2 3 4 0 0 0 5 +1 16
Otto Porter Jr., SF 35 6-9 2-4 2-2 1 1 2 2 4 0 1 3 +5 16
Marcin Gortat, C 33 5-9 0-0 2-4 2 8 10 1 1 1 1 3 +11 12
John Wall, PG 35 10-17 3-6 1-1 0 5 5 10 4 0 7 2 +7 24
Garrett Temple, SG 33 5-8 1-2 0-0 0 4 4 4 0 0 2 4 +13 11
BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
Drew Gooden, PF 15 2-5 1-3 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 -5 5
Kelly Oubre Jr., SF 15 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 3 -1 0
Gary Neal, PG 22 7-13 2-2 0-0 0 1 1 3 0 1 1 2 -2 16
Ramon Sessions, PG 13 1-4 0-0 3-3 0 0 0 4 0 0 1 1 +1 5
Nene Hilario, C DNP STRAINED RIGHT TRICEPS
DeJuan Blair, C DNP COACH’S DECISION
Jarell Eddie, SG DNP COACH’S DECISION
TOTALS FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
42-76 13-23 8-10 4 23 27 29 10 3 15 24 105
55.3% 56.5% 80.0%
Fast break points:   20
Points in the paint:   28
Total Team Turnovers (Points off turnovers):   15 (19)
+/- denotes team’s net points while the player is on the court.

Orlando Magic

STARTERS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
Channing Frye, PF 18 5-6 1-1 1-2 1 3 4 0 0 0 1 1 -10 12
Tobias Harris, SF 35 4-9 0-2 3-4 1 3 4 1 2 0 1 1 -12 11
Nikola Vucevic, C 35 10-17 0-0 3-4 3 6 9 5 1 0 2 3 -9 23
Evan Fournier, SG 37 5-10 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 4 0 0 2 1 -6 11
Victor Oladipo, SG 39 5-12 2-4 5-6 1 2 3 5 1 1 6 2 -7 17
BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
Jason Smith, PF 13 3-7 0-0 2-2 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 1 -1 8
Aaron Gordon, PF 30 4-7 1-2 1-2 3 7 10 1 2 0 1 0 +4 10
Andrew Nicholson, PF 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 +4 0
Dewayne Dedmon, C 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 +4 0
Shabazz Napier, PG 9 0-3 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 1 +1 0
Mario Hezonja, SG 22 2-3 0-0 3-4 2 1 3 3 1 1 1 1 +2 7
Elfrid Payton, PG DNP COACH’S DECISION
TOTALS FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
38-74 5-13 18-24 11 26 37 22 9 2 15 12 99
51.4% 38.5% 75.0%
Fast break points:   9
Points in the paint:   40
Total Team Turnovers (Points off turnovers):   15 (20)
+/- denotes team’s net points while the player is on the court.

 Flagrant Fouls: 1 ORLANDO ( Vucevic 1 )
 Technical Fouls: PLAYERS:None -TEAMS: None -COACHES:None
 Officials: James Williams, Marat Kogut, Michael Smith
 Attendance: 18,058
 Time of Game: 2:12

Categories: Basketball, Featured, Sports
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