ORLANDO, Fla. — As hard as they may have tried, the Orlando Magic couldn’t completely avoid the outside noise of tanking — a team doing less than everything it can to win — heading into Tuesday’s 134-120 home loss to the Detroit Pistons.
It comes with the territory when two of the league’s worst teams — and the only ones who’ve officially been eliminated from playoffs contention — play each other late in the season. Especially when both are without multiple key players in a game they have more incentive to lose than win.
Nonetheless, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley insisted pregame his group blocked out comments about a loss to the Pistons (19-51) possibly helping them later when it comes to draft lottery odds.
“We’ve talked to our guys about not listening to the outside noise and how we stayed tied together as a group,” Mosley said. “It’s going to continue to be about us.”
The “noise” Mosley referred to was already present leading into Tuesday, but it got even louder when it was known who wouldn’t be available.
For the Magic (18-53), Wendell Carter Jr. (sprained left ankle) — the team’s leading scorer since Jan. 1 — Chuma Okeke (left knee contusion) and Jalen Suggs (right ankle bone bruise) sat out.
The Pistons were without their top two scorers in rookie guard Cade Cunningham (non-COVID-19 illness) and Jerami Grant (right knee inflammation).
But to the Magic and Mosley, the absences and lack of immediate reward for winning didn’t make Tuesday meaningless.
It allowed guys to be in situations they haven’t normally been in — like R.J. Hampton starting his third consecutive game, Moe Wagner making his first start, two-way players Ignas Brazdeikis and Admiral Schofield getting consistent rotation minutes and Mo Bamba getting set up to score off a post up on the opening play.
Franz Wagner scored a team-high 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Moe had 16 points (7-of-12 shooting) with 5 rebounds and 3 assists Markelle Fultz had 11 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench, while Terrence Ross had 17 points in 23 minutes.
Gary Harris was a healthy scratch for the third time in four games.
Saddiq Bey scored a career-high 51 points (17 of 27, 10 of 14 on 3s) to go with 10 rebounds and 4 assists. It marked the consecutive game a player scored 50-plus points against the Magic after Nets guard Kyrie Irving scored 60 in Brooklyn’s win Sunday.
Marvin Bagley III had 20 points and 11 rebounds.
“Each game presents something different,” Mosley said. “For us, it’s always going to be about how we defend. Being able to withstand runs, whether you’re up or down. It’s about our demeanor in those situations. Our guys continue to learn no matter the opponent.”
The Magic will be in this situation again before the season ends.
They play the Oklahoma City Thunder twice (Sunday at home and March 23 on the road). The Thunder (20-49) entered Friday on a seven-game losing streak and with the league’s fourth-worst record.
The Magic will continue to do their best to ignore the noise that follows.
“We’ve said from Day 1 it’s about the growth of our young men,” Mosley said. “You see that in the way [they] play. Night in and night out, it’s about our ability to get better and compete nightly.”
