The Orlando Magic knew they were not going to keep Bradley Beal down for long.
One of the league’s top scorers had sort of skated through the game to that point. He had his moments, but the Magic largely contested his shots and made it difficult for him to get going. The team held the Washington Wizards to one shot and kept a healthy distance throughout the second half.
Beal was always liable to catch fire. Then the shots started falling. The Magic could not just run out the clock. Beal was going to push the Wizards to make the game closer and closer.