The Orlando Magic crushed the Memphis Grizzlies 118-88 on Saturday night in a win that had Joe Ingles in a jovial mood.
After the game, Ingles was first to the podium, in place of Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley and hilarity ensued, per Fawzan Amer of The Sixth Man Show:
“Joe Ingles went first tonight at the podium stealing Jamahl Mosley’s usual slot. Mosley ended up walking in midway through and Ingles said “sorry coach I stole your time”. Mosley responded by saying Ingles could do his which proceeded into Joe mocking him”
Ingles then did his best impression of the Magic coach, saying “I think the guys played with joy, and…” before bursting into laughter.
This was a big win for the Magic who, with Saturday’s win, have clinched their winningest record since 2011, per StatMuse.
The Magic are now 43-31, good for 5th place in the NBA Eastern Conference standings.
The Magic led 58-34 at halftime and finished with seven players in double figures, led by 15 points each from center Wendell Carter Jr. along with guards Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony. The Magic also shot 22-of-44 on 3-pointers.
Playing with no rest between games had been a challenge this season for the Magic, which had dropped three in a row heading into its matchup with Memphis.
Jamahl Mosley’s squad (43-31) entered the contest 4-9 on the second night of a back-to-back, and the unavailability of key players has impacted those games.
The Magic were missing guard Gary Harris (right plantar fascia injury maintenance) and forward Jonathan Isaac (right hamstring injury maintenance) against the Grizzlies
The Magic’s resurgence
Earlier this month, the Magic guaranteed that they would at least make the NBA Play-In Tournament, but they have their sights set on bigger goals.
Mosley spoke about the team’s goals earlier this month.
“I think we continue to focus on one game at a time–continue to build our habits the right way, stick to our standard of style of play, knowing that we’re there but not being satisfied with that because that’s not what we set out to do.”
Mosley underscored the goal of playing peak basketball in the season’s critical stages.
“We set out to be playing our best basketball in March and April, and that’s what we’re going to continue to do on a consistent basis: Our level of work, our level of focus, each and every single day.”
The Magic are currently just a game-and-a-half behind the New York Knicks for the fourth seed and home court advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs. They also are only two games behind the third-place Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Magic’s forthcoming performances are not only about securing a favorable playoff position, but also about asserting their standing in the competitive Eastern Conference race.
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