It was a game the Magic needed to lose. And they did so in grand fashion.
With precious ping pong balls on the line, the Magic never stood a chance against their fellow lottery contenders, trailing by more than 40 at times in what was an ugly 128-96 loss to the Timberwolves.
The Magic struggled to move the ball and forced shots in traffic from the get go. They shot 25 percent in the first quarter, going 2 of 11 from three, against a Timberwolves team that owns the league’s third-worst defense rating.
The Wolves’ big three of Karl-Anthony Towns (13), D’Angelo Russell (10) and Anthony Edwards (8) combined for 31 first-quarter points, as the trio connected on 5 of 9 three-point attempts.