The Orlando Magic finished with a decisive late push Monday night, and head coach Jamahl Mosley pointed to composure and defensive execution after the 123-107 win against the Detroit Pistons at the Kia Center.
Orlando closed the game on a 14-2 run after Detroit cut the deficit to three points in the fourth quarter. Mosley said the response reflected the team’s ability to stay steady during momentum swings.
“I like the fact that we responded to that,” Mosley said. “I think they made their push. They came back a couple of possessions by us, let them off the hook. They did a great job of speeding us up and not allowing us to get into our stuff.”
Mosley emphasized that regaining rhythm and getting stops allowed the Magic to regain control late.
“That’s the time that we got to continue to settle down, find our poise,” Mosley said. “The other side of it is that we get stops to get out and run to get the easy baskets.”
Detroit entered the game as the top seed in the Eastern Conference despite resting multiple players. Mosley said the Pistons’ ability to pressure the ball and attack the paint explains their success this season.
“They’re the number one team in the East for a reason,” Mosley said. “They won these for a reason because they’re not going to quit. Their ability to put pressure on you, get downhill, attack the basket, play with that level of confidence—that’s what they’ve done.”
The Magic improved to 43-36 and have now won four of their last five games while battling for postseason positioning.
“We said we want to be playing our best basketball around this time,” Mosley said. “For winning four out of the last six, that says something about what we’re doing, and it may not always be pretty in every game, but we’ve got to find ways to win.”
The coach also highlighted the team’s ball movement, noting a recent spike in assists.
“The way I feel about this group is just that I think the sky’s the limit when we continue to communicate with each other,” Mosley said. “Over the last three games I think we’re averaging close to 31 assists. So they’re sharing and moving the basketball.”
Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 31 points while Desmond Bane added 25. Orlando also received a strong all-around performance from Jalen Suggs, who recorded 12 points and 12 assists.
Mosley credited Suggs’ playmaking growth to his ability to read the floor.
“He was a quarterback for a reason,” Mosley said. “His vision, the way he sees the floor, what he sees on the court, I think is big for us.”
The Magic also welcomed back Anthony Black after a lengthy absence.
“I think just trying to find his rhythm,” Mosley said. “First it was defensively turned up, gave us a couple steals, got out in transition, being able to get to the basket—just knocking the rust off.”
Mosley repeatedly pointed to hustle plays and defensive effort as the foundation of Orlando’s late-season push.
“You talk about it as winning plays and those are the plays that matter,” Mosley said. “Those are the 50/50 balls that you get a hold of… be the first one on the ground to get to the basketball.”
The coach summarized the approach simply: “In this league it’s about the possession game.”
Comments are closed.