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After holding an eight-point halftime advantage on Thursday night against the Jazz, the Magic were outscored 38-21 in the third quarter, which helped send them to their first road defeat in the team's last nine tries. If you're looking for a reason why, look no further than this mini-incident which took place between Rashard Lewis and Stan Van Gundy during the second quarter.
"(Lewis) didn't want to go back in. I wanted to put him back in with six minutes to go in the second quarter and he didn't want to go back in," Van Gundy said. "He said it was because he had two fouls, and so if you have a guy who doesn't want to play, I'm not going to get in an argument and put him back in if he doesn't want to play at that time."
In Stan Van Gundy's world, a player's unselfishness is apparently a good enough reason for him to refuse a direct order, as there weren't any lingering hard feelings about it from the coach -- at least not initially.
Lewis was back out there to start the third, but the team, which was riding a six-game winning streak and had been playing so well of late on the road, clearly wasn't right.
The Jazz, after all, were playing on the second night of a back-to-back, after managing just six points in the fourth quarter the night before in Los Angeles. A 17-point third quarter beatdown at their hands didn't seem likely, but then again, neither did one of Van Gundy's star players declining his request to re-enter the game.
Who knows what was said at halftime, but a chemistry issue seems as good as any to blame for the Magic's uncharacteristically poor showing in the third. But while Van Gundy seemed to let it go at the time, according to Lewis, it was a different story later on.
"[Van Gundy] wasn't [mad] at the time," Lewis said. "But he was [mad] when they started making a run. You got to point the finger at something if that's what you got to point it at. Hey, I don't give a damn."
Obviously players and coaches are going to be frustrated after a loss, so Lewis' comments should be taken in the appropriate context. But whatever rift has been created here, there's not a lot of time to fix it: the Magic head to Phoenix for a showdown against the Suns on Friday, who are undefeated on their home floor so far this season.
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