Magic Coach Jamahl Mosley Explains Game 5 Ending

ORLANDO — Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac secured a rebound with 13 seconds to go in Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers with his team down 102-100. He gave the ball to Franz Wagner and the clock continued to tick.

Coach Jamahl Mosley had a timeout, but opted to let his team run the final play. Wagner found a gap on the left side of the court after a high screen and drove to the basket, but Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley was right behind him and blocked the shot right before it got to the rim, securing a Game 5 victory for Cleveland.

While it was an unfortunate ending for the Magic, Mosley doesn't regret the look his team got.

“Don’t call the timeout cause if I call a timeout there I lose the last one, we don’t get a final shot at it," Mosley said postgame. "[I] thought he did a great job getting to the basket. [Evan] Mobley made a hell of a play with the block at the rim."

Mosley has been consistent with his late-game decisions, often choosing not to call timeout in situations similar to Game 5 trying to not give the defense a chance to set up in the halfcourt. There's a good chance if a timeout wasn't called that the team wouldn't have gotten a look better than what Wagner got.

The Magic had a good play, but Mobley and the Cavaliers simply had a better one, and that can be the difference in tight series like this one.

Related stories on the Orlando Magic

• GAME 5 RECAP: The Orlando Magic couldn't pull out a win in a hard-fought Game 5 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. CLICK HERE

• PG TO ORLANDO?: The Orlando Magic could sign Los Angeles Clippers All-Star Paul George in free agency this summer. CLICK HERE

• JARRETT ALLEN OUT: Cleveland Cavaliers star Jarrett Allen won't play against the Orlando Magic in Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. CLICK HERE

• GARY HARRIS EXITS: Gary Harris won't play in the fourth quarter of the Orlando Magic's Game 5 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. CLICK HERE

• WHAT MAKES MAGIC SPECIAL?: The Orlando Magic are in the midst of their best season since 2010, but one of the main reasons for their reason for their success goes beyond the basketball court. CLICK HERE