Orlando Battles Adversity

Orlando, FL – “This team’s not gonna stop fighting.” Those were the words of Orlando’s Head Coach Jamahl Mosley following his team’s 105-99 loss in the Thunder vs Magic game on Thursday. He was right. The Magic did not stop fighting, regardless of how many obstacles were thrown at them. The Thunder’s defense suffocated anyone who tried to attack the basket. The Magic couldn’t keep control of the ball in the first quarter. Jalen Suggs even went down with a left ankle injury midway through the second quarter. And through all of it, the Magic just did not stop fighting, led by Anthony Black’s season high 23 points.

“[The Magic have] the grit to keep going, no matter what’s happening on the court,” Mosley said.

Fighting Back in the Second Half

All seemed lost at the beginning of the third quarter of the Magic vs Thunder game. The Magic were down 65-46 when they went back to the locker room for halftime. They weren’t done fighting, though. They kept chipping away at the Thunder’s airtight ball security and forced nine second-half turnovers. In doing so, they chipped away at a Thunder lead that seemed insurmountable — until the fourth quarter. 

That was when the Magic really took over. Two minutes into the game, Cory Joseph assisted Anthony Black on a driving floating shot to put the Magic within four points. Isaiah Joe responded with a driving layup to return the lead to six. That wouldn’t hold for long. A stepback three from Black brought the Magic within three points. At that time one quarter ago, the Magic were down 18.

It was a team effort that earned them this boost. Black tied his career high with 23 points. Tristan da Silva added 15 points, coming just 5 shy of his own career high. Both Goga Bitadze (10 points and 13 rebounds) and Wendell Carter Jr. (15 points and 10 rebounds) finished with double-doubles and contributed to the Magic’s dominant night on the glass.

It wasn’t enough to take down the Thunder — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 35-point explosion proved too much to handle —  but it was a second half that scared the best team in the Western Conference, a half that showed that, even without their three best players, the Magic do not stop fighting.

“We’re more than capable,” Carter Jr. said. “No matter what five we roll out there, we’re all capable of winning.”

Jalen Suggs’ Injury Concerns

It happened with just under two minutes in the second quarter of this Magic vs Thunder showdown. Jalen Suggs drove past Cason Wallace before losing his handle and falling to the ground. Suggs grabbed his left ankle and writhed on the ground for a moment. He curled up into a ball and pounded his fist onto the court twice. A look of intense pain covered his face when it came back into view. This injury looked like one that the Magic are used to.

“When he went down the first time, I was extremely nervous and worried,” Mosley said. “I wasn’t going to call the timeout, but usually he bounces back up.”

Suggs writhed on the ground for a minute before standing up. He limped to the bench on his own power and spent the rest of the quarter receiving treatment. When the halftime buzzer sounded, he walked out back to the locker room on his own power as well.

Suggs Tries to Re-Enter the Game

Orlando kept Suggs in the game and started him to begin the second half of this Magic vs Thunder matchup. After a minute passed, he turned the ball over. After another minute, he missed a stepback three-pointer. 

With just under eight minutes left to play in the third quarter, Mosley took Suggs out of the game. He did not return, instead spending the rest of the game on the bench with both of his legs wrapped.

“I just saw that there wasn’t a high pace,” Mosley said about Suggs’ injury. “There was moments of it, but I want to make sure he’s going to be okay, as for the long haul.”

Suggs May Need Some Rest

Suggs finished Thursday’s game with nine points, five rebounds and four assists off of 4-for-10 (40%) shooting from the field and 1-for-6 (30%) from three. Mosley confirmed that Suggs had suffered a left ankle injury, and “The Athletic’s” Josh Robbins reported that Suggs left Kia Center without a walking boot. 

If Suggs misses time going forward, he joins a long list of Magic players sidelined due to injury, which includes Paolo Banchero (torn right oblique), Franz Wagner (torn right oblique), and Gary Harris (left hamstring strain). There is no word as of Thursday night as to whether that will happen.

“There’s too many things going on with this team when it comes to the injury bug, that we want to make sure we’re smart when it comes down to that,” Mosley said.

Anthony Black Steps Up

If the Magic have learned one thing all season, having a “next man up” mentality has got to be one of their primary lessons. When Banchero tore his right oblique, Franz Wagner filled that all-star role. When Wagner tore his own oblique, Suggs took his place as Orlando’s first option. After Suggs injured his ankle in the second quarter, someone needed to answer the Magic’s call and become their offense’s leader.

Anthony Black picked up the phone. And he absolutely dialed in.

Season High For Black

Black finished Thursday’s game with 23 points off of 8-for-14 shooting from the field (57%) and 3-for-6 (50%) shooting from behind the three-point line. Those 23 points surpass Black’s season high (20 points at Phoenix on Nov. 18), and they tie his career high (23 points at Washington on Dec. 26, 2023).

“He pushed the pace the way we needed the pace to be pushed,” Mosley said.

It was a tale of two halves for Black on Thursday.  He walked off the court at halftime with four points while shooting 1-for-4 (25%) from the field and missing his only three-point attempt. In the second half, Black scored 19 points and shot 7-for-10 (70%) from the field and 3-for-5 (60%) from three, leading to Black’s incredible season high performance.

That shift is no coincidence. Suggs’ injury close to halftime gave Black a clear plan of attack. 

“Just to be aggressive,” Black said of his mindset following Suggs’ injury. “That’s what my teammates are telling me to do, coaches are telling me to do.”

Anthony Black’s Path to Orlando’s Rotation

The sixth pick in the 2023 NBA Draft is used to stepping up in the face of adversity. His first career moments of true playing time came after Markelle Fultz, who was the Magic’s starting point guard at the time, went down with left knee tendonitis. The Magic thrust Black into Fultz’s spot in the starting lineup, where he contributed to a nine-game winning streak.

A Magic team without Banchero, Franz Wagner, or Suggs came back from a damning deficit and lost by just six points to the juggernaut that is the Thunder. That happened in large part because of Black’s season high points, leadership, talent, and aggression in difficult situations.

“He has the ability, he has the size, he has the demeanor to be really good in this league,” Carter Jr. said. “He just showed it tonight against a really good team.”

Magic’s Turnover Trouble

It’s hard not to give credit to a Magic team that refused to quit against a dominant Thunder team. But the Magic’s inability to secure the ball is what made the Thunder look so dominant to begin with, even with Black taking the reigns with his season high game.

Orlando finished Thursday’s Thunder vs Magic game with 20 turnovers, which the Thunder scored 26 points off of. This was a game that the Magic lost by just six points.

“The margin of error is very slim,” Mosley said. “You can’t turn it over 20 times for 26 points and hope to give yourself a chance in that situation.”

Most of the Magic’s turnovers came in the first half. The Magic committed five turnovers in the first quarter alone and added eight more in the second quarter. That makes 13 total Magic turnovers for the Magic during the first half, which is how many turnovers the Thunder had for the entire game.

During that first half, the Thunder scored 22 points off of just Magic turnovers. The Magic had not scored off of any of Oklahoma City’s four turnovers at the time. 

“We got to be better,” Black said. “Got to be better, particularly in the second quarter, taking care of the ball.”

The Magic tightened their ball security for the second half, thanks largely to Black stepping up and scoring his new season high, but they couldn’t climb out of the hole they dug with their 13 first-half turnovers.

“That was probably the deciding factor for us,” Carter Jr. said.

Bright Spots For The Magic Despite Loss

One of the brighter spots for Orlando during the Magic vs Thunder game on Thursday was how well the Magic grabbed boards. They outrebounded the Thunder 40 to 32, with both Carter Jr. and Bitadze finishing with at least ten rebounds. The Magic maintained control of the glass throughout the game, and it’s part of the reason why they were able to keep it so close at multiple points, despite Suggs’ ankle injury.

Gary Harris’ lingering left hamstring strain caused him to miss his tenth straight game tonight. He was able to shoot pregame warmups, and his hamstring did not look like it was bothering him too much. Harris said at this morning’s shootaround that he was “feeling good” and is “getting close” (h/t SI’s Mason Williams).

Despite losing to the Thunder and having Suggs go down with injury, the Magic were able to learn very important lessons about how to bounce back and improve upon their mistakes and come to the next game as better, stronger and smarter players.

“These are invaluable lessons,” Mosley said. “You’d like to come out the other side in the other column, but in order to feel the sting of how important the possessions are, how important communication is, understanding what the game plan is, those are so important for those guys to feel and see as we go forward.”