ORLANDO, Fla. — Jalen Suggs on Friday turned in a career performance but the effort was not enough as the Los Angeles Lakers took down the Orlando Magic, 116-105.
Suggs finished with a career-high 22 points, nine assists, four rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots in 34 minutes of action. He went to work early, recording 13 points and eight assists alone in the first half and was aggressive in attacking the rim and finding his teammates.
Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley explained what led to his career night.
“The level of being decisive in his decision-making, either attacking the rim or trying to find (a teammate),” Mosley said of Suggs. “They go to the switching package and us holding the basketball got us stagnant quite a bit but our ability to attack the paint and get to the rim, and what Jalen was doing was getting downhill. Obviously, shooting 10 free throws — that’s something we asked him to do.”
The contest for Suggs marked his fifth back after missing 20 games with a fractured right thumb. The team greatly missed his energy and effort, along with his ability to drive into the paint and either finish or find an open teammate.
tuff finish @jalensuggs
📺: https://t.co/ATC9NrTJF4 pic.twitter.com/O4ZUID0x36
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) January 22, 2022
Suggs often gave the Magic a competitive edge prior to the injury by chasing loose balls, locking up on defense and getting into the paint. The team has gone just 1-4 since Suggs returned, but the Magic look to have regained some of those traits with him back on the court.
He thought they played great in the first half against the Lakers.
I think that was one of the best halves we have played all season. It is just continuing to build on that and sustaining that. I think guys did a great job of knocking down shots, being in the right places and our spacing was amazing. I was able to find them on kick-outs. We talked about getting into the paint. It is not just scoring at times but drawing the defense in so we have spray-outs and cuts and things like that. I am proud of everybody tonight for the way that we fought.
Orlando showed it can compete with one of the top teams in the league but is still learning how to hold onto leads. The team also led the Philadelphia 76ers by 10 points at halftime on Wednesday but that lead quickly evaporated as the Magic lost by 13 points.
The team entered the season projected to be in a developmental state and results like Wednesday and Friday are to be expected with a young roster. They are still learning to play for a full 48 minutes and that was evident up against a veteran-laden Lakers team.
However, the Magic have had plenty of positive moments throughout the season and have, at times, offered plenty of hope for the future with their young nucleus of players.
Suggs was the latest to showcase his potential.
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