ORLANDO, Fla. — Although the Orlando Magic haven’t officially been eliminated from playoff contention, they’re all but guaranteed to not be a part of postseason play for the second consecutive season. But that didn’t stop them from getting one last glimpse of what postseason preparation could feel like Wednesday.
The Magic’s 122-114 loss to the Pacers was their second consecutive home game against Indiana after beating the Pacers at Amway Center Monday.
Outside of the playoffs, playing the same opponent in consecutive games doesn’t occur often.
When teams get those rare instances, it can often turn into a battle of who makes the better adjustments from Game 1 to Game 2 because of the familiarity with one another’s gameplans after just playing each other.
“Having been around a playoff very closely,” Mo Bamba said ahead of Wednesday’s game, “it’s very similar because all it turns into is adjustments from Game 1 to Game 2.”
The Magic appeared to be the team that made the better adjustments after being in control for most of Wednesday: they led by as many as 18 multiple times late in the third quarter and had the advantage for over 87% of regulation.
But the Pacers took advantage of Orlando’s all-reserve lineup early in the fourth to take a late lead, going on a 16-6 run to start the quarter, before Bamba’s put-back layup with 5.8 seconds tied the game at 110 to force overtime. The Pacers outscored the Magic 12-4 in the extra period to secure the victory.
Franz Wagner finished with 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting and 4 of 6 on 3-pointers, with all of his points coming in regulation. Bamba had 19 points (8 of 9) and 12 rebounds. Wendell Carter Jr. recorded 13 points, 18 rebounds and five assists. Markelle Fultz had 11 points, three rebounds and two assists in 15 minutes in his second game back.
Malcolm Brogdon’s return to the Pacers lineup after dealing with an Achilles injury was significant for Indiana. Brogdon finished with 31 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in 41 minutes.
Wednesday’s matchup marked the fifth and final time the Magic played the same opponent in consecutive games this season, and just the third time both matchups took place in the same arena.
The other instances: against the New York Knicks (Oct. 22 in Orlando and Oct 24. in New York City); the Milwaukee Bucks (Nov. 20 and Nov. 22 in Milwaukee); the Bucks again (Dec. 28 and Dec. 30 in Orlando); and the Washington Wizards (Jan. 9 in Orlando and Jan. 12 in Washington).
“It’s great because now you talk about making the adjustments understanding what they’re going to do differently, what we need to do differently,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “Some things right away you can see — those quick adjustments. They’re going to make some and we’re going to have to understand how we can combat those.”
The Magic (15-48) will go on the road to play back-to-back games against the Toronto Raptors (Friday) and Memphis Grizzlies (Saturday). Friday’s contest is a makeup game after their Dec. 20 matchup was postponed because of COVID-19-related reasons.
