LOS ANGELES — The first quarter of the Orlando Magic's season went better than they reasonably could've hoped when they received their 2015-16 schedule.
They hold an 11-9 record, a vast improvement for a team that sank to the cellar of the NBA standings the previous three years.
And, yet, Magic players believe they should be in a better position. They point to early season losses to the Washington Wizards, Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets and, now, to Saturday night's painful 103-101 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers as missed opportunities. In each of those games, they failed to protect late leads, albeit against opponents that have at least one All-Star player.