It was at all times going to be an uphill battle for the Magic with out Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner in opposition to the Bucks on Tuesday evening.
Regardless of lacking its star duo, together with key reserves Jonathan Isaac and Gary Harris, Orlando fought valiantly in its 114-109 street loss within the NBA Cup quarterfinals at Fiserv Discussion board.
Jalen Suggs recorded a career-high 32 factors, however Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (37 factors) and Damian Lillard (28) mixed for 65. Bobby Portis added 22 off the bench for the Bucks.
“We would like them to grasp what they only did, simply from an effort class, from going toe-to-toe with two Corridor of Famers and a really skilled basketball group,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley stated. “In these moments, that is the place the possessions matter. The psychological focus issues in these video games.
“However I can’t be extra happy with their effort, their vitality, their sticking-together all through the runs inside the recreation that exhibits continued progress for this group and understanding how good we will proceed to be,” he added.
With the five-point win, the Bucks advance to the league’s in-season event semifinals in Las Vegas whereas 4 days off await the Magic, who’ve performed a road-heavy slate to start out the season.
If New York wins Wednesday, Orlando will play Sunday at Atlanta at 5 p.m. If Atlanta wins Wednesday, Orlando will play vs. New York at Kia Middle at 6 p.m.
Spectacular Suggs
The Magic guard did far more than simply rating.
Usually diving for free balls and battling exhausting on protection, he added 9 rebounds, 4 steals and a block in 38 minutes. He did all of it whereas battling a proper thumb harm, too.
Suggs exited the sport within the third quarter after he jammed his proper capturing thumb. He returned within the body together with his proper hand closely wrapped up.
However that didn’t appear to hassle him an excessive amount of when he notched 18 factors, together with 10 straight, within the fourth quarter.
Suggs, nonetheless, missed a go-ahead 3-pointer with 12.1 seconds left and a second 3 six seconds later that will have tied the sport at 110.
“To overlook two of them when everyone was seeking to me, drew one thing up for me to go get one, it actually hurts to be sincere,” he stated.
Turnovers and takeaways
The Magic held true to their bodily id by placing the Bucks into tight areas early within the recreation, forcing turnovers and producing offense from protection.
Orlando entered the competition second league-wide in scoring factors off turnovers (20.8) and scored 20 off Milwaukee’s 16.
Three straight turnovers by the Bucks to start the second half powered a 7-0 run for the Magic. Milwaukee flipped the script to finish the body, nonetheless, closing the third quarter on an 18-4 run to guide by 8 coming into the fourth.
The Bucks scored 12 factors off 14 turnovers by Orlando.
Lengthy-range distinction
How did the Bucks stay aggressive regardless of their lack of ball-control?
They made up the distinction from past the arc when the Magic didn’t convert there.
The Bucks entered with the third-best 3-point accuracy within the NBA (39.4%) whereas Orlando entered with the worst (31.1%).
The Magic missed 9 straight 3s at one level within the third quarter to complete 6 of 27 capturing from distance (22.2%).
Milwaukee made 5 extra 3-pointers (11 of 30 on 36.7%), which changed into a 15-point distinction alone.
Rookie watch
Tristan da Silva earned his second straight begin and sixteenth as a rookie.
Though he solely performed 16 minutes, he acquired to the free throw line (4 of 4), grabbed 2 rebounds and totaled 6 factors.
Jason Beede could be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com
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