ORLANDO – Late Sunday, as Aaron Gordon adjusted the ice pack wrapped around his lower back and struggled to rise from his locker room chair, the grimacing Orlando Magic forward was in obvious pain.
That pain, however, paled in comparison to the pain that Gordon and the Magic felt after squandering an opportunity to get a much-needed victory and climb in the Eastern Conference standings.
Orlando came into Sunday night knowing that it had a chance to move into a tie with rival Miami for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after the Heat lost earlier in the day.