Desmond Bane addressed the media after the Orlando Magic’s 109-97 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena, with his focus centered on execution, turnovers, and late-game possessions.
“I mean, I think they made plays and we didn’t,” Bane said. “We didn’t take care of it. We gave them extra possessions. That’s on me and I definitely got to be better taking care of the ball for sure.”
The Magic guard, who finished with a strong scoring output, emphasized that Orlando generated workable looks but failed to convert when it mattered most.
“I thought we had some couple good possessions, open threes, attacks to the rim,” he said. “For the most part, I thought our process was good on both ends of the floor tonight. They made more plays than us, especially down the stretch.”
Philadelphia’s late-game shot creation proved decisive, with Tyrese Maxey and the Sixers’ supporting cast capitalizing on defensive gaps. Bane pointed directly to those swings in momentum.
“They made plays and we didn’t,” he said again. “There were a couple plays in the game where it was like, we could have switched the momentum around and we just came up short.”
The Magic had multiple chances to close the gap in the fourth quarter but could not string together stops. Bane highlighted the importance of limiting secondary contributors on the opposing roster.
“We talked about their others, not letting them get in and dictate the game,” he said. “Drummond had a big game. Kelly Oubre had a big game. So we didn’t do enough to win.”
Despite frustration from the result, Bane stressed the team’s mindset heading into its final play-in opportunity against Charlotte.
“We’re all competitors. We all want to win. Winning is at the utmost priority for everybody,” he said. “There’s frustration, but it’s also a great opportunity ahead of us on Friday.”
Orlando will host Charlotte with the winner advancing as the East’s No. 8 seed. Bane framed the matchup as a season-defining moment after a long campaign.
“We’ve been at this thing since September,” he said. “We’re going to have one game to make it matter. Lay it all on the line.”
Bane also reflected on late-game execution, pointing to both decision-making and turnovers as key areas of concern during the stretch run.
“Lay it all on the line,” he said. “We’ve been grinding, chucking away at this, and we’re going to have one game to make it matter.”
