At 87-84, Orlando had finally reduced the night to one possession. Franz Wagner had made a free throw with 6:45 remaining, bringing the Magic within three for the second time in the fourth quarter. Washington answered with Anthony Davis’ pullup, then AJ Dybantsa’s running layup. The margin was seven again, and Orlando had to begin another climb.
That sequence captured the Magic’s 103-94 loss to the Washington Wizards on Monday at Kia Center. Orlando scored well enough late to make the game uncomfortable, but its nine-point third quarter had already handed Washington too much control. The fourth-quarter offense could reopen the door; it could not keep the Wizards from closing it.
The game had been essentially level at halftime. Orlando led 33-28 after one quarter, then Washington edged ahead 60-59 by the break. The third quarter changed the shape of the contest without producing a single overwhelming run. Washington scored 19 points. Orlando scored nine. An 11-point deficit awaited the Magic in the fourth.
Washington’s work in that period was steady and specific. Davis opened the second half with a pullup that made it 62-59. Desmond Bane answered with a driving floater, but Kyshawn George followed with a 29-foot three, pushing Washington ahead 65-61. Deandre Ayton’s dunk made it 67-63, and Davis then scored on a running layup and an 8-foot shot as the Wizards reached 71-63.
Orlando did produce a response. Wagner scored on a drive during the third, and George’s layup later in the period gave Washington a 73-68 lead. That exchange was less about one spectacular burst than about the cost of every stalled Orlando possession. The Magic needed several answers merely to keep the gap from growing, and the third ended with Washington ahead 79-68.
The fourth quarter gave Orlando a more credible attacking shape. Bane’s 24-foot step-back cut the margin to five at 81-76. After George made a pullup to put Washington ahead 83-76, Bane hit another three, this one from 25 feet, for an 83-79 score.
That was close, but it was not yet the three-point gap Orlando needed; Dybantsa’s pullup made it 85-79 before Wagner drove for a basket and added a free throw, trimming the deficit to 85-82.
Washington’s reply arrived quickly enough to prevent the sequence from becoming a tie-game chase. George hit a 13-foot jumper for an 87-82 lead. Wagner then made another free throw, this one the second of two on that trip, bringing Orlando within three at 87-84. Davis and Dybantsa supplied the next two Washington baskets, and the Wizards were back in front 91-84 with 5:17 left.
