Orlando, FL – The Orlando Magic (36-40) lost to the Los Angeles Clippers (43-32) 96-87 at the Kia Center on Monday night.
Orlando had a strong defensive night, holding the Clippers under 100 points, but the Magic’s offensive struggles in key moments led to their defeat.
Paolo Banchero scored a game-high 26 points, followed by Franz Wagner with 21. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Cory Joseph contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively, rounding out Orlando’s top scorers.
The Clippers saw 21 points each from Norman Powell and Kawhi Leonard, while James Harden added 20 for Los Angeles.
A significant factor in the game was rebounding, where Orlando fell short. Ivica Zubac grabbed 18 rebounds for the Clippers, contributing to their dominant 47-36 rebounding advantage.
It’s rare for a team to lose when holding their opponent to 96 points or fewer. Prior to Monday’s action, it had occurred only eight times throughout the league this season. Now, there are nine such instances, as the Magic failed to capitalize on their defensive effort, losing 96-87 at the Kia Center.
This marked the ninth time this season that the Magic failed to reach 90 points.
Zubac secured several offensive rebounds in the final minutes. One of them led to a crucial 3-pointer by Norman Powell with 3 ½ minutes remaining, extending L.A.’s lead to eight.
“That was a playoff game,” Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said. “The physicality (and) the small, tiny, little things matter in these games. What turns out to be a four-point differential in a game feels like 10 because of the number of possessions. So, every rebound matters. Every foul matters. Every little, small possession in a game like this, which was a playoff-type game, matters.”
Paolo Banchero struggled with his shooting, making only eight of 24 field goal attempts, including 1-of-8 from beyond the arc. He also committed six turnovers, one shy of his season high.
The Clippers’ strong defense held Orlando to just 39% shooting from the field and 27% from three-point range.
This season, Orlando is now 2-16 against the current top nine teams in the Western Conference standings, with both victories coming against the Lakers.
The Magic will look to bounce back on Tuesday when they visit the San Antonio Spurs at 8 p.m. ET.
