ORLANDO, Fla. _ Two and a half months and counting.
The Orlando Magic haven't won two games in a row since they defeated the New York Knicks on Nov. 8 and beat the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 10.
The Magic are still waiting to repeat the feat because they turned the ball over 17 times, couldn't stop opponents' drives to the hoop and couldn't defend Garrett Temple as they lost to the Sacramento Kings, 105-99, Tuesday night at Amway Center.
Temple scored a career-high 34 points on 14 of 17 shooting. He tallied 19 points in the fourth quarter.
Temple put the Kings ahead, 99-97, when he sank a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 2:42 remaining in the fourth quarter. A short while later, Temple sank a 19-foot jumper over Elfrid Payton to extend the Kings' lead to 101-97.
The Magic made only 43 percent of their shots, and no one struggled more than forward Aaron Gordon. Although Gordon scored 16 points and collected 12 rebounds, he went 6 for 17 from the field and turned the ball over a game-high seven times.
The Kings' Willie Cauley-Stein scored 21 points, collected nine rebounds, dished out four assists and blocked five shots. Sacramento outscored Orlando by 27 points when he was in the game.
For a while, the Magic were in control of the game. They led 79-68 with 4:03 to play in the third quarter.
But Sacramento cut Orlando's lead to 87-86 when Skal Labissiere hit a pair of free throws with 9:12 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Sacramento came away empty on its next two possessions when Malachi Richardson missed a long jumper and Temple turned the ball over. Orlando generated some breathing room when Payton followed a missed layup attempt by D.J. Augustin with a put-back layup.
A short while later, Payton rattled in a floater in the lane to extend Orlando's lead to 91-86.
But Sacramento responded quickly. Temple scored on a layup and then, after a missed jumper by Evan Fournier, swished a 3-pointer to tie the score at 91 with 6:20 to go.
After a Bismack Biyombo dunk, Temple drained a 3 from the right corner to give the Kings a 94-93 lead.
Orlando went ahead 95-94 when Gordon made two of three foul shots with 4:55 to play.
As bizarre as it sounds given their awful record this season, the Magic (14-33) needed to guard against complacency against the Kings (14-33).
The Magic had played well recently. Over the last week, they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in Orlando, lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers by one point in Cleveland and beat the Boston Celtics in Boston.
That's progress. But the progress eroded when the Magic lost to the cellar-dwelling Kings.
"It's somewhat laughable that you can use the word 'complacent' with the record that we have," coach Frank Vogel said after the Magic completed their morning shootaround. "But when you beat a team like Boston in Boston, there is a natural letdown that sets in, and we have been very active in guarding against that in practice yesterday and in shootaround today."
The reality is that Vogel's players have fared poorly most of the season against teams in their weight class, especially at home.
Make no mistake: The Magic should have beaten the Kings, who rested healthy veterans Zach Randolph and George Hill and also lost rookie point guard De'Aaron Fox for the final 2{ quarters because he suffered from abdominal tightness.
The Kings own the NBA's worst record, entered Tuesday on an eight-game losing streak and were playing on the second night of a back-to-back following a loss Monday night in Charlotte, N.C.
But the Kings took advantage of the Magic's weak perimeter defense, often driving straight to the hoop as they scored 52 points in the paint.
After such a poor performance, it's no wonder why the Magic are still waiting to win two games in a row.
