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The Orlando Magic's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, who own the league's worst record, on Monday raises an interesting question: of all Orlando's defeats in the 2013/14 season, which one stands out as the worst? Orlando Pinstriped Post offers three nominees here:
December 6th: New York crushes Magic
Orlando led by as much as 10 points in the first quarter and trailed the New York Knicks by just five points at halftime. New York took command in the second half, however, limiting Orlando to 29 points--two fewer than it posted in the first quarter--as it crushed the Magic by a 121-83 final. That minus-38 margin stands as the biggest defeat of the season for Orlando and its seventh-worst in its 25-year history.
January 2nd: Orlando squanders late lead, falls in OT
The Magic led the Cleveland Cavaliers by nine points with 64 seconds to play, only to watch as Dion Waiters and Jarrett Jack led the Cavs back to force overtime. After taking that nine-point edge, the Magic shot 0-for-2 with a turnover to let Cleveland back into the game in short order.
Orlando never led in overtime and scored just two points. All told, Cleveland went on a 17-2 run in the game's final six minutes.
Monday: Bucks rally to KO Magic in fourth
Orlando built an 18-point lead in the first half, on the road, against the league's worst team, but couldn't close out the victory. Brandon Knight and Khris Middleton combined for 31 second-half points as the Bucks shot 50 percent. Tobias Harris, meanwhile, went scoreless after halftime, and Arron Afflalo shot 0-of-7 for two points.
We turn it over to you, OPP readers: which loss is the worst of Orlando's season to date? Please vote in the poll embedded in this post.