{"id":577955,"date":"2026-02-02T19:51:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T19:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/577955\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T19:51:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T19:51:15","slug":"orlando-magic-take-step-back-at-spurs-head-to-thunder-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/577955\/","title":{"rendered":"Orlando Magic take step back at Spurs, head to Thunder next"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO \u2014 Almost nothing was routine about Sunday\u2019s game between the Magic<\/a> and Spurs<\/a> at Frost Bank Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A game originally scheduled for 4 p.m., it was pushed back not once but twice over the course of a day before it ultimately tipped off at 9 p.m. (or 8 p.m. Central) after San Antonio<\/a> was stranded Saturday night in Charlotte because of winter weather and had to divert to Atlanta on Sunday morning due to equipment problems.<\/p>\n

And as the Spurs traveled the day of the game and arrived home fewer than five hours before\u00a0 stepping on the court, Orlando<\/a> could do nothing but wait in its hotel with uncertainty about whether or the not game would take place.<\/p>\n

But, by the end of the night, it was the Spurs who played with more aggression and assertiveness from the jump, scoring 37 points in the first quarter, out-rebounding Jamahl Mosley<\/a>\u2018s squad 48-34 and racking up 52 points in the paint en route to a 112-103 victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve said it time and time again, we weren\u2019t ready to play,\u201d Magic guard Desmond Bane<\/a> said after the nine-point loss. \u201cWe were a step slow, especially on the defensive end. I mean, they were getting whatever they wanted. And then we settled into the rhythm of the game but you\u2019re playing the second best team in the league so you can\u2019t afford to have moments like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI talk about our growth and stuff like that, but we\u2019ve got to start putting it into action and being better,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

After trailing by 16 points at the end of opening quarter, Orlando actually took a 61-60 lead into halftime thanks to a 40-23 advantage in the second frame. But San Antonio limited the Magic to just 18 points in the third, Orlando\u2019s lowest scoring quarter of the night.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t help that San Antonio attempted 17 more free throws than Orlando and made nine more.<\/p>\n

Multiple members of the Magic found themselves in foul trouble, including center Wendell Carter Jr.<\/a>, who earned two fouls in the first three minutes of the game.<\/p>\n

Carter picked up five fouls, scored two points and grabbed just two rebounds in 19 minutes of action.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably one of my worst games of my career, honestly,\u201d he told the Orlando Sentinel<\/a> in the locker room. \u201cIt was just tough. I know what kind of impact I have on this team when I\u2019m scoring, rebounding, but I\u2019ve got to be out there. I\u2019ve got to be a lot smarter, knowing the guys we are going against. I definitely just got to be smarter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t allow myself to be out of the flow of the game early, and then it kind of just messes up my flow for the rest of the game,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

With Carter off the floor, Mosley turned to three different big men off the bench: Jonathan Isaac, Moe Wagner and Goga Bitadze.<\/p>\n

While Isaac and Bitadze had some success against Spurs star Victor Wembanyama \u2014 who shot a combined 0-for-2 from the floor with just two free throws during the 3 1\/2 minutes with Isaac and Bitadze defending him, according to league-tracking data<\/a> \u2014 the French All-Defensive forward overpowered Orlando to total 25 points, eight rebounds, five blocks and four steals in 28 minutes on the second night of a back-to-back.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was tough,\u201d Isaac told the Sentinel about battling the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama. \u201cThey created a certain set of problems with him being as tall as he is, and they\u2019ve got guards that can really get downhill.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur ability to defend the paint was a little choppy,\u201d Isaac added.<\/p>\n

San Antonio\u2019s top trio of guards \u2014 De\u2019Aaron Fox (14 points), Devin Vassell (16) and No. 2\u00a0 pick Dylan Harper (15) \u2014 combined to score 45 points on 20-for-39 shooting from the floor (51.3%).<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Orlando\u2019s first three guards beyond Bane \u2014 Jalen Suggs (5 points), Anthony Black (11) and Tyus Jones (scoreless in nine minutes) \u2014 combined to score 16 points on 6-for- 25 shooting (24%).<\/p>\n

But if, as Bane said, the Magic \u201cweren\u2019t ready to play\u201d against Wembanyama and the Spurs, who does that fall on?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt [doesn\u2019t have anything] to do with the coaches,\u201d Bane said. \u201cThat\u2019s on us. They\u2019re not the ones out there sitting down and guarding. We don\u2019t have elaborate schemes really on either side of the ball, but we know what\u2019s asked of us.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we\u2019re a team that plays physical and plays hard, especially on the defensive end of the floor,\u201d he added. \u201cThat wasn\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Orlando (25-23) will have to recapture that identity when it makes its lone trip of the regular season to the defending champions Thunder on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

Oklahoma City (39-11) has gone 21-4 at home this season and leads the league in scoring (120.3 points per night).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a tough matchup playing them in their place,\u201d Paolo Banchero told the Sentinel about the Thunder. \u201cThey\u2019re the best team in the West, so we\u2019ve just got to come out and be ready.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t expect to get calls there,\u201d he added. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to find a way to win. They\u2019re a really good team and a well-oiled machine. So, it\u2019s going to be a hell of a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Up next \u2026<\/p>\n

Magic at Thunder<\/p>\n

When:\u00a08 p.m., Tuesday, Paycom Center<\/p>\n

TV:\u00a0FanDuel Sports Network Florida<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2014 Almost nothing was routine about Sunday\u2019s game between the Magic and Spurs at Frost Bank…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":577956,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3797],"tags":[7,165,6,76,969,474,4075,4074,1412,66,534],"class_list":{"0":"post-577955","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio-spurs","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-latest-headlines","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-orlando-magic","12":"tag-san-antonio","13":"tag-san-antonio-spurs","14":"tag-sanantonio","15":"tag-sanantoniospurs","16":"tag-social","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-spurs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=577955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/577955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/577956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=577955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=577955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=577955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}