Orlando Magic have escaped a rough stretch but when it seemed like they have figured things out with two straight wins, they went back to their bad habits according to Desmond Bane. Magic fall to the San Antonio Spurs on the road and suspect was their lackluster third quarter.
Magic ended their four-game losing streak on January 28 by beating Eastern rivals Miami Heat and followed it up with a win against another conference contender Toronto Raptors. Problem is, they were not able to sustain it.
They lost to Spurs led by Victor Wembanyama who scored 25 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and blocked 5 shots. He also had 4 steals. He did most of the damage in the second half.
Spurs outscored Magic in the third quarter by 8 points, erasing the 40-23 second quarter win they recorded to keep the game close.
Bane led his team with 25 points but their star Paolo Banchero barely made an impact, scoring 19 points and taking only 12 shots.
Desmond Bane blasts team effort
Bane is one of the veterans on the team and he appears tired with what they showed against the Western Conference contenders.
“I just don’t think we’ve come out with right mentality. I’ve said it time and time again, we weren’t ready to play,” he told reporters after the game as quoted by Jason Beede of Orlando Sentinel.
“We were a step slow, especially on the defensive end.”
He also pointed to the messy schedule they got although he does not want to use it as an excuse.
“Our energy wasn’t there. It was different for us, too,” he continued.
“You’re preparing for a 3 o’clock game and then it gets pushed back to 6, and then 8 or whatever. So, I don’t know if that played a part but there’s no excuses. I mean we’re a better team than we showed. We’ve got to be better.”
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