The pressing need for a victory was front and center for the Orlando Magic on Sunday coming off a surprising loss to the Charlotte Hornets that snapped a timely three-game winning streak.
Their response, a 113-98 home win over the Chicago Bulls, fulfilled their primary objective and continued a season-long trend of embracing immediate challenges. The Magic (46-32) seized control in the first quarter and carried a 17-point lead into the second quarter, setting a positive tone in advance of a critical three-game road trip that begins on Tuesday against the Houston Rockets.
A fourth victory in five games enabled the Magic to close to within one game of the reeling Milwaukee Bucks for the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Orlando remains hopeful that the win wasn't costly after losing Franz Wagner (ankle) and Jonathan Isaac (back) to injuries. Both are questionable for Tuesday's game.
"First, it's the game of basketball," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. "There's bumps and bruises all the time. Trying to keep guys healthy, we would love to but it is part of the game. Obviously, we'll see how these guys respond (Monday) and we'll go from there."
Jockeying for playoff positioning is a relatively new endeavor for this iteration of the Magic. Orlando last qualified for the postseason in the 2019-2020 season, and the team's ascent this season is tied to a talented, youthful roster collectively experiencing its first playoff push.
The pursuit is heated. The Magic have the same record as the New York Knicks and are only a half-game ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are in fifth place in the East. Considering the stakes, it would be understandable if the Magic were scoreboard-watching, but honing in on the Rockets is the foremost goal.
"That thing is going to flow up and down a ton these last four (games)," Mosley said of the standings. "So us being able to focus on what we're capable of doing is all that matters right now."
Still, with only five teams in the NBA owning a better home record, the Magic have an incentive to secure home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs.
"It's huge for us knowing how we can take care of home court," Mosley said.
The Rockets (38-40) were eliminated from play-in contention with their 147-136 overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, their fifth consecutive defeat following an 11-game winning streak that lifted Houston to within a game of the Golden State Warriors for 10th in the West.
With their postseason hopes dashed, the Rockets have reset their focus for the final four games of the season, during which Houston effectively erased a painful, three-season rebuild. The winning streak offered proof that the Rockets might be closing in on playoff contention as early as next season.
"I think we've shown a lot of growth this year," Rockets guard Jalen Green said. "We've grown all together as a team from the first game until now. We just want to finish above .500 and prepare for next season."
Tuesday marks the Rockets' final home game this season. Then they will depart on a three-game road trip to Utah, Portland and the Los Angeles Clippers to conclude the campaign.
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