DALLAS — Same old, tired story for the Orlando Magic.
Unable to defend.
Too erratic on offense, especially down the stretch.
The Magic lost a winnable game Tuesday night to a team in their weight class, falling to the rebuilding Dallas Mavericks 114-99 at American Airlines Center.
Orlando has lost 25 of its last 29 games.
For a while, it looked like the Magic could engineer a fourth-quarter comeback.
Aaron Gordon cut Orlando’s deficit to 100-96 when he sank a 3-pointer from the left corner with 4:14 to play.
But the optimism was short-lived.
On Dallas’ next trip down the floor, Wesley Matthews made a short turnaround jumper as he was fouled by Evan Fournier. Matthews made the ensuing foul shot, and his three-point play extended Dallas’ lead back to seven points.
After Fournier launched an errant 3-point try, the Mavericks’ Harrison Barnes drained a 21-foot jumper, forcing Magic coach Frank Vogel to call a timeout and try to regroup while down 105-96 with 3:14 to go.
The second half was a disaster for the Magic.
After the Mavericks made 36 percent of their shots in the first half, the Mavs made 69 percent of their shots in the second half.
Orlando led 48-43 at halftime, then gave up eight straight points to begin the third quarter on a pair of free throws by Dirk Nowitzki, a fadeaway jumper by Nowitzki, a pair of free throws by Dennis Smith Jr. and a 3-pointer by Yogi Ferrell.
The 8-0 Dallas run set the tone for the rest of the period.
Dallas outscored Orlando 39-27 as Dallas made 14 of its 21 shots.
No one inflicted more damage than Ferrell, the 6-foot-tall guard who scored 12 of his 15 points in the period.
Nowitzki, the 39-year-old legend in Dallas (and Germany), scored 20 points, tying a season high.
The Magic got one of their injured players back in time for Tuesday.
Swingman Jonathon Simmons played — and started — for the Magic after he missed their previous game because of back spasms. But Simmons was largely ineffective, finishing with three points on 1-of-7 shooting.
Tuesday also carried some intrigue.
Gordon was held out of the starting lineup for what team officials labeled “a violation of team rules.” A source said Gordon arrived late for the team’s flight from Orlando to Dallas following practice Monday afternoon.
Vogel subbed Gordon into the game with 5:31 remaining in the first quarter. But Gordon opened the third quarter as the team’s starting power forward.
Gordon provided the Magic’s play of the night with the Magic trailing 78-69 late in the third quarter. Teammate Wes Iwundu missed a mid-range turnaround jumper, and Gordon fought for the rebound against two Mavericks players. Gordon tipped the ball five times before he finally gathered it with two hands. Gordon then dunked over Salah Mejri as he absorbed a foul by Mejri. Gordon sank the ensuing free throw to cut the deficit to 78-72.
Gordon scored 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting. He gathered eight rebounds.
The Mavericks (14-28) have endured almost as rough a season as the Magic (12-29) have endured. Dallas now has won six of its last 11 games.
Orlando fell behind 25-16 late in the first quarter but stormed back by going on a 23-5 run.
D.J. Augustin ignited the stretch when he drained a 3-pointer. When the second quarter started, Iwundu scored in the lane as Nowitzki fouled him, and then Iwundu sank the ensuing free throw. After a Dallas miss, Marreese Speights tied the score 25-25 with a 3-pointer.
The Mavs entered Tuesday averaging 32.0 3-pointers per game, the fifth-highest average in the NBA. They had made 36.9 percent of their 3-point tries, the league’s ninth-highest percentage.
They finished 11 of 29 from beyond the arc Tuesday, shooting 38 percent.
The Mavs aren’t the first team to outpace its average this season against the Magic.
That’s a long list.
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