The Washington Wizards led the Orlando Magic by 17 points entering the fourth quarter Sunday night. However, they were outscored 43-19 in the final frame to lose 120-113. The loss dropped the Wizards to 0-3 on the season.
Bradley Beal had a game-high 29 points, but his early streak of 30-point games ended at two. Washington was without Russell Westbrook, who rested on the back end of their back-to-back with Orlando.
The Magic were led by Markelle Fultz and Terrence Ross, whom each scored 26 points.
The Wizards outscored the Magic 34-15 in the third quarter. But with Beal on the bench, the Magic mounted their comeback with a quick 10-0 run in the first three minutes of the fourth. Orlando kept chipping away at the deficit before a pair of free throws by Evan Fournier gave them the lead at 108-107 with 2:57 remaining.
The two went back and fourth but layups from Thomas Bryant and Raul Neto gave the Wizards a 113-110 lead with 59.8 seconds remaining. However, the Magic turned the tide, scoring the final 10 points of the game to steal the win and improve to a perfect 3-0 on the season.
A frustrated Beal called the fourth quarter collapse “unacceptable.”
The Wizards and the fourth quarter are just not a good mesh. Washington has been abysmal in the final frame through the first three games of the season, as NBC Sports’ Chase Hughes laminates.
Washington has now lost winnable games against Philadelphia and Orlando (Saturday night) and blew a double-digit lead in the fourth on Saturday to the Magic, all due to their inefficiency late in games, particularly defensively.
The first two losses were overshadowed some by Westbrook’s consecutive triple-doubles. However, with him out, the spotlight focused on their fourth quarter woes.
The Wizards’ next chance for their first win will be Tuesday against the Chicago Bulls.
