ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley has been consistent with his message to the team all season: their success will be driven by high-level defensive play.
The Magic have not only bought into this mantra but they’ve shown how effective they can be on that end of the floor, especially over the last month.
Unfortunately for them, the progress they made in that stretch didn’t carry over into Saturday’s 121-108 home loss to the Indiana Pacers.
The Magic’s defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) of 110.3 over their previous 14 games ranked No. 5 compared to every team’s last 14 games entering Saturday.
Locking in on protecting the interior (46.1 points in the paint allowed per game, tied for No. 2 during that stretch) has been a driving force of that defensive success.
So has creating and capitalizing off turnovers.
The Magic’s 16.8 takeaways per game over that aforementioned stretch ranked No. 2, right behind the Memphis Grizzlies’ 16.9. Orlando capitalizes on those extra possessions, scoring 20.8 points off turnovers, also No. 2 right behind the Sacramento Kings (21.6).
“What we need to continue to do is build,” Mosley said pregame. “That’s what it’s been about. Us being able to build and grow in that area. We’ve focused on it as much as possible. Protecting the paint and us picking up full-court has changed that. Guys are getting the basketball and making teams feel us from the beginning of the game once they get that ball inbounds.”
The Magic didn’t create those same extra scoring opportunities against the Pacers, with Indiana only having 10 giveaways for 13 Orlando points.
Those scoring opportunities matter even more for a Magic team that’s struggled with their halfcourt offense, scoring 94 points per 100 halfcourt possessions over their last 14 games (No. 26 in the league), according to Cleaning The Glass.
The Magic’s scoring struggles hurt their defense.
They missed several layups/put-backs and open shots from beyond the arc (6 of 29 on 3s), sparking the Pacers’ transition opportunities. Indiana scored 24 fast-break points.
“We let our offense impact our defense,” Mosley said.
Myles Turner led the Pacers, who shot 15 of 40 on 3s (37.5%) with 24 points and eight rebounds. Tyrese Haliburton had a 15-point, 14-assist double-double.
Indiana’s bench scored 56 points, led by Bennedict Mathurin’s 19 and Jordan Nwora’s 18.
Forcing turnovers, stout defensive rebounding and limiting second-chance scoring opportunities are why the Magic have held opponents to 84.1 field goal attempts over the last month — the fewest in the league.
The Magic didn’t have that same advantage Saturday, with the Pacers taking 99 shots compared to Orlando’s 90. Some of this can be attributed to the Magic taking 38 free throws to Indiana’s 14.
Franz Wagner led the Magic with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Paolo Banchero added 19 points (6-of-12 shooting) and six rebounds.
“We played them twice earlier [in the season] and they just weren’t healthy,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “They didn’t have all their guys. They didn’t have [Markelle] Fultz. [Cole] Anthony [wasn’t] playing during that period of time. Those are two guys with a great nose for the ball. They both play defensively with tenacity. They have great hands. Those guys enhance their situation.”
Jalen Suggs (14 points, five rebounds) and Jonathan Isaac have played significant roles in why the Magic have been the top team in defensive turnover rate over the last month. Both have a knack for ripping the ball from ballhandlers or being active with their hands in the passing lanes.
Suggs led the Magic in steals per game over the last month at 1.4 in 22 minutes entering Saturday.
“Suggs is always going to be a ballhawk,” Carlisle said. “He’s one of the guys who’s really disruptive for them.”
Isaac has averaged 1.3 steals in 11.3 minutes, leading the league in steals per 36 minutes (5.5) and ranking third in deflections per 36 (5.5) in that stretch.
“Even though he’s playing a limited number of minutes, as his minutes grow their defense gets better,” Carlisle said. “One of the great things about him coming into the draft was he could guard anybody, 1 through 5. He was one of those great defenders out of Florida State who could be an impactful defender and he’s showing that right now.”
Added Mosley: “JI is special defensively. Jalen in that same breath is moving his way into that regard as well. As soon as [they] step on the court, they make an immediate impact for us defensively.”
However, Isaac wasn’t available for the Pacers game, sitting out because of left knee injury management. He played a season-high 16 minutes in Thursday’s win over the Detroit Pistons.
