ORLANDO, Fla. — If the Orlando Magic had any notion they would just waltz into the playoffs, that mistaken impression has now dissolved.



The Magic lost a crucial game Friday night to the Chicago Bulls, 110-109, and the Magic have no one to blame but themselves. They missed free throws. They gave up too many open shots to Lauri Markkanen. And worst of all, they made two significant mental errors down the stretch.



The mistakes were costly — Orlando now trails eighth-place Detroit by 1½ games — but in the aftermath, the Magic at least handled their defeat the right way. Instead of pointing fingers at each other, the people most responsible for the two critical final mistakes, coach Steve Clifford and forward Aaron Gordon, fell on their swords and said the buck stopped with them.



Clifford blamed himself for failing to have a big man on the floor with 32.0 seconds to go, the score tied 106-106 and the Bulls about to inbound the ball. The...