ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Magic’s five-game homestand, which ended with a 110-108 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night, brought the team more than just nights sleeping in their own beds after a road-heavy start to the season.
Since starting their homestand against the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 21, the Magic have found greater success with getting to and scoring inside the paint.
The Magic averaged 21.9 made field goals of their 41.4 shots (52.9%) in the paint entering the homestand.
In the four home games entering Sunday, Orlando made 26.8 of its 44.6 (60.1%) field goal attempts in the paint — helping the Magic go from one of the league’s least productive teams in the paint to one of the more productive ones.
The Magic, who averaged 43.9 paint points (21st in the league) before the homestand, scored at least 48 points in each of the five home games during the home swing. They scored 60 points in the paint against the Mavericks compared to Dallas’ 46.
Their average of 53.5 points in the paint over the four-game stretch entering Sunday was the league’s sixth-best mark.
“I don’t know if we’ve said anything different, but when we get there it’s easier decisions for people,” said Franz Wagner, who recorded 18 points on 9-of-15 shooting against Dallas. “It just gets people a lot more open.”
Chuma Okeke had team-highs of 19 points and 3 steals off the bench. Wendell Carter Jr. had a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double. The Magic had seven players score in double figures Sunday.
The Mavericks (29-22) were led by Luka Dončić, who had a 34-point, 12-rebound, 11-assist triple-double.
It’s helped the Magic that all four of the teams they played during the home swing before Sunday ranked below-average in rim protection.
But to coach Jamahl Mosley, the Magic’s improved ball movement and more efficient passing has helped the team create easier shots closer to the rim.
Orlando scored 70.5 points off assists (sixth in the league) in the four home games before Sunday compared to the 58.1 points off assists (league’s fourth-worst mark) in their previous 46 games. Of the Magic’s 43 made shots against the Mavericks, 26 were assisted.
“If the ball stays on one side of the floor, it’s easy for defenses to load up,” Mosley said. “And then you’re not attacking the rim because the defense presents itself early. The more we move the ball side to side and trust the pass, the better we’ll be at getting to the rim because those are the straight-line drives and the defense is constantly shifting.”
“We’ve constantly talked about that since the beginning of the year. Our guys understand the concept. Sometimes that paint attack comes on the third drive; it might not come on the initial. Adjusting and shifting defenses for us is where we can be very good.”
The Magic (11-40), who have won three of their last four, will play back-to-back road games against the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday and Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.
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