LAS VEGAS — Trailing the Knicks by 10 points three minutes into the third quarter of Saturday’s NBA Cup semifinal, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley called timeout.
By the next stoppage roughly four minutes later, Orlando had stormed back to take a 2-point lead and felt confident it had cracked the code against New York by driving to the basket, forcing turnovers and hitting 3s in the second half under the bright lights of T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The only problem?
The Knicks weren’t rattled.
New York called a timeout of its own, closed out the third quarter on a 15-5 run and didn’t look back in its 132-120 victory over Orlando in front of a national TV audience on Amazon’s Prime Network.
“We fought. We battled,” Mosley said after the 12-point loss that ended the Magic’s Cup run. “That’s what this team is going to continue to do. What happened with (the Knicks) is they made a couple timely shots. We missed a couple timely shots, a couple rebounds here and there for second-chance opportunities.
“Again, those are the details of the game we’re going to have to continue to look at,” he added. “Give New York a ton of credit for how they came out and played as well.”
Although Orlando outscored New York 19-13 in second-chance points, the Magic left points on the board, especially in the third quarter. That frame, they shot 1 for 6 in second-chance opportunities to finish 8 for 16 overall.
The Knicks were not only more efficient in second-chance scoring scenarios (3 for 5 for 13 points), but they also shot the ball better from the floor overall (61% vs. Orlando’s 46%), from beyond the arc (35% vs. 31%) and at the free throw line (74% vs. 68%).
Add in 93 points combined from OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson, the latter of whom notched 40, the margin for error was small for the Magic.
“They were too comfortable,” Orlando guard Desmond Bane said. “We had a stretch there in the third quarter where I felt like we picked up our defensive intensity and were able to get into the ball and make it uncomfortable for them.
“But most of the night, just about everybody on the team was getting to the spots that they wanted to get to with little resistance from us,” he added.
Despite coming up short of their goal of capturing the Cup, the Magic still had plenty to gain from their experience in Vegas.
And they didn’t leave empty-handed when each player earned $106,187 for falling in the semifinals.
Of course, it’s not all about the money, either. No. 5 Orlando (15-11) saw firsthand just how challenging of an opponent the No. 2 Knicks (18-7) can be when they’re rolling on both ends of the floor.
While the Magic had defeated them twice earlier in the season, New York won the last two games in the past week to split regular-season series with Orlando.
“It’s definitely a motivation,” Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. said in the locker room. “We look at it as a regular season but with the stakes involved in it, the money aspect of it, it was a great experience. After playing in the playoffs the last two years now, it kind of had a similar feel, but at the same time, it was something that could learn from.”
Added Bane: “We need these moments. We need these games where we’re playing in meaningful games and have to go through some adversity. It will help prepare us for our next challenges.”
Orlando’s next challenge includes a trip back out west after returning home Sunday. The Magic open a four-game West Coast trip Thursday at Denver.
Magic guard Jalen Suggs, who exited Saturday because of a sore left hip, will be re-evaluated before the team hits the road again.
Magic guard Jalen Suggs suffers hip injury: ‘He laid it all on the line for us’
The veteran voices in Orlando’s locker room aren’t worried about the team dropping a second straight game against New York and going 2-3 in its last five games.
“I don’t think this is cause for like foreshadowing to the end,” Magic forward Jonathan Isaac said. “We’ve got to find a way to be more consistently us.
“We’ve got a great team, a lot of talented guys and we’ve got to regroup and be ready for this West Coast trip.”
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com
Up next …
Magic at Nuggets
When: 9 p.m., Thursday, Ball Arena
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida