Frustration grows for Magic, who get thrashed by Raptors: ‘It’s all a collective’

TORONTO — The Magic made history in more ways than one during Sunday’s game against the Raptors inside Scotiabank Arena . First, Orlando allowed Toronto to score 31 consecutive points between the end of the first quarter and the start of the second, marking the largest run in league history since play-by-play tracking began during the 1996-97 season. Then, by the end of the night, the Raptors captured a 139-87 victory over the Magic — a 52-point difference that represents the largest loss in Orlando franchise history.

The Magic’s worst previous loss was by 47 points against the Bulls in April 2017, a 122-75 defeat. “Gotta find ways to stop runs like that. We didn’t,” Magic forward Paolo Banchero said in the locker room.

“If you want to be a good team, you can’t give up runs like that. ” Good teams also don’t lose seven of their past eight games against opponents both in front of them (Atlanta and Toronto) and way behind them (Indiana) in the standings over the final month of the regular season. That’s where Orlando finds itself with less than two weeks remaining in a regular season that’s been nothing but inconsistent for an organization that’s searching to return to the NBA playoffs for the third consecutive year.

Sunday’s game might as well have carried the implications of a playoff game, too, due to the impact it would have on the Eastern Conference standings. Although the Magic were still in eighth entering Monday’s slate of games, the gap between them and the teams in front of them has only grown as of late. Last Monday, Orlando also sat in eighth, but only a half-game behind Philadelphia.