Stan Van Gundy walked into his postgame press conference and joked that General Manager Otis Smith should have surveyed the Amway Center stands, found really tall people and immediately signed them to brief contracts.
Nothing for the Orlando Magic has been easy this season, not even Wednesday's game against one of the worst teams in NBA history.
On the night the Magic secured the Eastern Conference's sixth seed by beating the Charlotte Bobcats 102-95, Van Gundy's team took a step backward through no fault of its own. Glen Davis, the big man who has played so well in Dwight Howard's absence, sprained his right ankle.
"There was definitely some worry," said J.J. Redick, who scored a career-high 31 points. "You immediately think to yourself, 'How are we going to go forward if he's out for an extended period?' "
The Magic now know they will face the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs, but the Magic don't know for certain that Davis will be available when the series begins. Redick said Davis' injury did not seem serious, and Van Gundy added that Davis was walking on his right leg, which was a good sign.
It looked dreadful when Davis turned his ankle when he stepped on one of Byron Mullens' feet with 3:10 remaining in the first quarter. The injury prompted Davis to clutch his right leg and squirm in pain on Amway Center's parquet court.
"It's just been that type of season," Orlando wing Jason Richardson said.
Ryan Anderson scored 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Jameer Nelson added 11 points, nine rebounds and nine assists before he fouled out late.
The Magic (37-28) needed all of those contributions because the Bobcats (7-58) want to avoid finishing the season with the worst record in NBA history.
Earl Clark and Daniel Orton, the Magic's 6-foot-10 backup big men, piled up personal fouls at an alarming rate.
"It's getting crazier by the day, actually," Van Gundy said. "We were so ready to play, too. Our guys came out and I thought our ball movement and everybody was sharp, really ready to play. And then Glen goes down, and every big guy we put into the game thought their job was to foul as quickly as they possibly could."
The Magic could not maintain the 17-point lead they had built midway through the second quarter.
Charlotte cut the score to 67-66 on a 3-pointer by D.J. Augustin with 5:30 left in the third quarter, forcing Van Gundy to call a timeout. The announced crowd of 19,152 fell silent.
But Richardson drew a shooting foul on Gerald Henderson on the ensuing possession and made both free throws. A short while later, Nelson made a 3-pointer from the right corner to put Orlando ahead 72-66.
"Nobody in here is used to losing like we have lost this year," said Henderson, whose team lost its 22nd consecutive game.
Orlando faces obstacles, too.
With Howard out, the Magic have almost no margin for error. Prognosticators give the team almost no chance to beat the Pacers in a best-of-seven series.
Those chances will diminish if Davis must miss time or is limited by his ankle injury.
And Van Gundy knew it the moment he saw Davis fall to the ground.
"I've been told by my wife several times to quit swearing in my press conferences," Van Gundy said. "So I really can't say what went through my head."
jbrobbins@tribune.com. Read his blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/magicblog. Subscribe to our Orlando Magic newsletter at OrlandoSentinel.com/joinus.
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