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Tag: mosley

  • Struggling Magic get to face blowout-prone Nets

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    (Photo credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images)

    The Orlando Magic open a four-game homestand Thursday against the reeling Brooklyn Nets looking to right the ship after losing six of their last eight games.

    The Magic are one game above .500 and sitting eighth in the Eastern Conference, yet they’ve been losing ground to the Philadelphia 76ers for the sixth and final playoff spot in the East.

    ‘It’ll be great to be back home for four games, it’s very important for us going into the (All-Star) break, but we have to take it one game at a time,’ Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said after his team’s 36-point loss Tuesday at Oklahoma City.

    ‘It’s hard to win in this league. We have to understand that and the work we need to put in.’

    The Magic also need leading scorer Franz Wagner (22.2 ppg) to get healthy as he has missed the last seven games with an ankle injury. It’s his second big chunk of missed time this season — and Orlando has gone 15-11 with him and 10-13 without.

    At the same time, Orlando had just 14 points in the first quarter against the Thunder on the way to trailing by as much as 41. Mosley said Wagner’s return, whenever it might be, won’t fix all of Orlando’s problems.

    ‘We still have to wait for him to come back, I don’t think any one person solves any of this,’ Mosley said. ‘We work together as a group, you win as a group and lose as a group. We’re all involved in this. We have to maintain our ability to work on the right things, but it starts with our mental preparation. When the horn starts, we gotta be ready to go.’

    Brooklyn has not looked ready for anything lately. The Nets have lost nine of their last 10 games and own a 3-16 mark since Jan. 1.

    When the Nets hosted the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, they trailed by 22 points after the first quarter. This came after a 53-point loss to Detroit on Sunday.

    ‘Yeah, more of the same. We got to figure something out,’ Nic Claxton told The New York Post. ‘Like, this is not basketball. We’re supposed to be NBA basketball players. We shouldn’t be getting beat by this much. We shouldn’t get down by this much.’

    Nets coach Jordi Fernandez looked for a silver lining, saying his team was competitive in the second half.

    ‘You start off losing the game by 22 points and lose by 16, right? That’s a little bit of the story of the game,’ Fernandez said. ‘I thought we competed at a higher level closing the second quarter and second half. I like our composure and not quitting. We saw some positive things, but obviously the first quarter is unacceptable.’

    The game tips off four hours after Thursday’s trade deadline. One of the league’s biggest trading chips is Brooklyn standout Michael Porter Jr., who ranks among the NBA’s top 15 scorers (25.5 ppg) and has scored 36, 38 and 21 points in his last three games.

    Porter Jr. in the final season of his contract at $40 million this season and will be eligible for an extension in July. Brooklyn must decide whether to keep Porter and build around him or flip him for draft capital.

    Paolo Banchero leads the Magic’s healthy players with 21.6 points per game. Desmond Bane had been on a heater (23, 32, and 25 points in a three-game stretch) before being held to seven by the Thunder. Bane leads the NBA with his 93.6% free-throw accuracy.

    Orlando will be going for a season sweep after beating Brooklyn 105-98 on Nov. 14 and 104-103 in overtime on Jan. 7.

    –Field Level Media

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  • Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell out to torment Magic in rematch

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    (Photo credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images)

    Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard Donovan Mitchell finished sixth in balloting for the Eastern Conference All-Star starters, one spot shy of earning the nod.

    His quest to be added to the All-Star Game as a reserve continues Monday, when Cleveland welcomes the Orlando Magic in the second half of a home-and-home set.

    Mitchell poured in 27 of his game-high 36 points in the second half Saturday, powering the Cavaliers to a 119-105 win at Orlando. He made 15 of 30 field goal attempts in 38 minutes, four more than he is averaging on the season.

    ‘Good decision by the coach,’ Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said, smiling. ‘I felt like the game was in the balance, so Donovan, we just had to ride him. I usually get him out there in the fourth quarter, but didn’t think we had that option.

    ‘He was great at both ends. He didn’t conserve himself on defense, and obviously the shot-making was insane.’

    Mitchell was sixth in voting by the fans, coaches and media in their independent polls, but ranks first in the NBA in second-half scoring with an average of 17.1 points. He also leads the East with 162 3-pointers.

    The six-time All-Star has driven the Cavaliers to three straight wins, continuing a push that has seen them go 10-4 since Dec. 29. Cleveland now sits fifth in the conference, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Magic for the final playoff position.

    ‘We just continue to find ways,’ said Mitchell, who is averaging a career-high 29.1 points, along with 5.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds. ‘These are the moments you enjoy. We’ll see these guys again Monday, so we’ve got to be ready.’

    Another positive trend for the Cavaliers is their work on the glass, having outrebounded their foes in six consecutive games, including a 38-37 edge over Orlando. Third-string point guard Lonzo Ball led all players with eight and Evan Mobley had seven.

    On the flip side is Cleveland’s inability to string wins together in its arena. The Cavaliers are 7-8 in their last 15 home contests and just 15-11 there on the season.

    ‘Obviously, we’ve had some injuries, but I love how our young guys continue to impress,’ Atkinson said, singling out second-year swingman Jaylon Tyson. ‘We’re doing it by committee and celebrating our depth. It feels like a collective effort.’

    The Magic have only played twice in the last seven days — dropping home games to the Charlotte Hornets and Cavaliers — following their European trip. Orlando beat the Memphis Grizzlies in Berlin but lost to them in London.

    Paulo Banchero showed some energy by scoring 27 points and making 10 of 12 free throw attempts against Cleveland, but the team in general appeared fatigued in its third straight double-digit defeat.

    The Cavaliers didn’t trail in the final three quarters as Moritz Wagner was the only Magic bench player to make more than one basket. Jalen Suggs did have nine points and six assists in his first action since bruising his right medial collateral ligament on Jan. 2.

    ‘It’s hard to slow down Donovan Mitchell because he’s seen it all,’ Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said. ‘Obviously, we know him very well and his ability to score at a high clip. Our ability to guard him with multiple bodies is very important.’

    Though Suggs is expected to play in the rematch, the Magic will not have small forward Franz Wagner for the third game in a row after the pain in his left ankle flared up. He missed six weeks with a high ankle sprain before playing in the overseas games.

    Mosley declined to second-guess the decision to have the Berlin native return in his homeland. Wagner is currently not cleared for contact.

    ‘Those are things I’m not looking at,’ the coach said. ‘When he thought he could go, he went. And when we thought he could go, he went. Now, we’ve got to be smart moving forward with him.’

    –Field Level Media

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