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Tag: banchero

  • Magic look for elusive second straight win, battle Wizards

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    (Photo credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images)

    The Orlando Magic have been unable to record consecutive victories since stringing three wins together back on Nov. 25 to Dec. 1.

    Fresh off an offensive uprising, the Magic will look to do precisely that on Tuesday when they visit the Washington Wizards.

    Desmond Bane scored 31 points and Paolo Banchero added 28 to go along with 12 rebounds on Sunday, lifting Orlando to a 135-127 home victory over the reeling Indiana Pacers.

    ‘Much better offensively, but we’ve still got to figure out how to string together some stops on the defensive end,’ Bane said. ‘We got a few when it mattered, but we’re better than that on that end, for sure.’

    Anthony Black collected 27 points and 10 assists in his return to the starting lineup for the Magic, who finished with a spirited effort to record their fifth win in nine games.

    ‘We just did a good job of staying poised,’ Banchero said. ‘(The Pacers) kept making shots and we were just able to come down and execute late in the game in the fourth quarter.’

    While the offensive numbers were impressive, the performance on the other side of the floor left a bit to be desired as Orlando played without guard Jalen Suggs. The defensive star sustained a Grade 1 MCL contusion in his right knee during Friday’s setback against the Chicago Bulls.

    ‘It’s just going to be collective,’ Bane said of the team’s plan as a means to overcome the loss of Suggs. ‘That’s been our identity and something that we have to lean into. Losing a guy like Jalen, you’ve got to lean into it even more.’

    Banchero scored 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor with 11 rebounds in Orlando’s 125-94 rout in Washington on Nov. 1.

    Like the Magic, the Wizards were rather generous in their last game. The Minnesota Timberwolves scored at least 33 points per quarter and shot a robust 56.1% from the floor in a 141-115 rout of Washington on Sunday.

    Gaudy numbers to be certain, however that came on the heels of the Wizards surrendering just 99 points against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.

    ‘Thankfully over the course of the last 15 games or so, we’ve proven this isn’t who we are, so it feels like more of fluke than a bad trend,’ Corey Kispert said of the game versus Minnesota, per the Washington Post.

    CJ McCollum finished with 20 points against the Timberwolves, marking the 13th time that he has scored at least that many points in a game this season.

    McCollum, who averages a team-best 18.6 points per game, was quick to credit with what he views as the future of the Wizards, players such as Alex Sarr (17.2 ppg), injured Kyshawn George (15.0) and Bilal Coulibaly (9.9).

    ‘They’re handpicking the right guys … they have all these guys with intangibles with skillsets with the ability to grow and evolve and develop,’ McCollum said in an appearance with the Club 520 Podcast.

    ‘The sky’s the limit in the next three years. They’re boys, that’s the scary part. Real dogs when they’re 24-25.’

    –Field Level Media

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  • Depleted Bulls look to build win streak vs. Magic

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    (Photo credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images)

    Aiming to secure a winning record in a three-game road trip that concludes with Friday’s visit to the Chicago Bulls, the Orlando Magic will look to build upon a clutch performance that boosted them Wednesday.

    Paolo Banchero swished the go-ahead layup with 7.5 seconds left to lift the Magic to a 112-110 win at Indiana.

    Orlando trailed by 10 points in the third quarter but rallied behind Banchero (29 points, 10 rebounds) and a deep attack that included Desmond Bane (18 points) and Anthony Black (15).

    ‘We just had to battle it out and play to the final buzzer,’ Banchero said.

    Monday’s 107-106 loss in Toronto to open the trip saw the Magic stumble in that regard; they squandered a 21-point second-quarter lead while tallying just 12 points in the fourth quarter.

    While Orlando remains without top scorer Franz Wagner (high ankle sprain), the team is getting closer to full health after welcoming point guard Jalen Suggs (hip) back to the lineup after a seven-game absence.

    Suggs contributed 11 points and three assists at Indiana.

    ‘Great to see him back out there, great to have him out there,’ Banchero said of Suggs. ‘Just his energy out there, he’s just a huge part of the team. So when he’s out there, I just think we’re better.’

    Chicago knows too well about the impact injuries can have on cohesion. The Bulls’ top two scorers – Josh Giddey and Coby White – recently were sidelined by a left hamstring strain and right calf tightness, respectively, and will sit out Friday.

    Center Zach Collins (right toe sprain) also is out for at least another week.

    On Wednesday, shorthanded Chicago stopped a two-game skid with a 134-118 win against New Orleans to improve to 1-2 on a five-game homestand.

    Sparked by Isaac Okoro’s season-best 24 points and double-doubles from Tre Jones and Jalen Smith, the Bulls placed eight scorers in double figures. Each starter contributed at least 14 points.

    ‘That’s how we’ve been winning,’ Jones said. ‘Guys down (now), we need everyone on the team; depth is one of our main things. Having that many guys in double figures, we need that to continue to stack these wins. Definitely a good way to go out in the year and head into a new year on a good note.’

    The winner of Friday’s game will earn at least a split of the season series. The visiting Bulls topped the Magic by 12 on Oct. 25 behind 21 points from Giddey before Orlando defended its home court with a 125-120 victory on Dec. 1. Bane scored 37 points, a season-high total he has achieved three times, in that win.

    Orlando has won seven of 10 the series with Chicago but has been susceptible to one of its former players lately.

    Bulls center Nikola Vucevic, who spent parts of nine seasons with the Magic before joining the Bulls in a midseason trade in 2020-21, has posted a double-double in seven of his past 10 games against Orlando. He is averaging 17.2 points and 11.1 rebounds per game over that span.

    –Field Level Media

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  • Raptors dig out of 21-point hole to steal game from Magic

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    (Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images)

    Reserve Jamal Shead scored 19 points as the Toronto Raptors overcame a 21-point deficit to defeat the visiting Orlando Magic 107-106.

    Brandon Ingram added 17 points for the Raptors, who have won two straight. Scottie Barnes had 13 points and 11 rebounds and made the decisive free throws in the final seconds. Gradey Dick scored 15 points, and Sandro Mamukelashvili tallied 13. Ochai Agbaji and Ja’Kobe Walter each scored 10 points, and Collin Murray-Boyles had four points and 12 rebounds.

    Anthony Black scored 16 of his 27 points in the third quarter for the Magic, who opened a three-game road trip. Paolo Banchero added 23 points, 10 assists and 15 rebounds.

    Desmond Bane scored 18 points, and Tyus Jones recorded 10.

    Orlando led by as many as 21 points in the first half, but the margin had shrunk to 10 entering the fourth quarter. Barnes nailed a 3-pointer to reduce the lead to two with 5:46 to play. Shead tied the game at 102 on a driving dunk with 4:42 to play after Barnes grabbed a defensive rebound. Ingram’s jumper gave Toronto the lead with 4:07 to play. Orlando regained a one-point lead on Wendell Carter Jr.’s jumper with 1:41 left. Carter fouled out, and Barnes made both free throws as Toronto regained a one-point lead. Banchero missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the game.

    The Magic led 29-18 after one quarter.

    Orlando used a 10-0 surge, capped by Banchero’s corner 3-pointer, to open a 45-25 lead with 7:43 to play in the second quarter. The lead reached 21 with 6:07 to play before the Raptors rallied and used the fast break to reduce the margin to nine with 2:42 left on Shead’s layup. Banchero completed the first half by swishing a catch-and-shoot, 15-foot high-arcing jumper that gave Orlando a 65-54 lead.

    The lead shrunk to five on Mamukelashvili’s three-point play with 6:07 left in the third quarter. Orlando rallied to lead by 14 on Black’s 3-pointer with 2:01 remaining. Orlando led 94-84 after three quarters.

    Orlando’s Jonathan Isaac left the game early in the first quarter with a sore left knee and did not return.

    Toronto was without RJ Barrett (knee injury management) and Jakob Poeltl (strained back).

    –Field Level Media

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  • Buoyed by Nikola Jokic, Nuggets open 7-game trip at Orlando

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    (Photo credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images)

    The Denver Nuggets finished up a tough slate of games and now start a season-high seven-game road trip when they face the Orlando Magic on Saturday night.

    Denver played the Houston Rockets twice, went on the road against the Dallas Mavericks and won a thriller over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night to wrap up a six-game stretch over 11 days. The Nuggets won four of those six contests.

    The Nuggets won’t have three starters for Saturday night after Cameron Johnson went down with a hyperextended right knee in a loss at Dallas on Tuesday.

    Johnson joins Aaron Gordon (hamstring) and Christian Braun (ankle) on the sideline, but the team’s depth is paying off. Tim Hardaway Jr. moved into the starting lineup against the Timberwolves, and Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones continue to fill in for Gordon and Braun.

    ‘We’ll just reinvent ourselves as we go here,’ Denver coach David Adelman said. ‘I’m looking at this as just another chapter in the season. It’s what it is.’

    Denver has kept winning — eight of the past 10 — and has thrived on the road. The loss to the Mavericks snapped the Nuggets’ 11-game road winning streak.

    A big reason is the play of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Jokic had 56 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists against Minnesota, making him the first player in NBA history to have a 55-15-15 triple-double. He is leading the NBA in rebounds (12.1 per game) and assists (11.0) and is fifth in scoring (29.8).

    ‘We can’t just continue to dismiss what this guy does on a night-to-night basis,’ Watson said. ‘Bro, it’s unbelievable. There’s no way that we can take for granted or it should go over people’s heads what Jok did (Thursday). And every night honestly.’

    Murray is averaging career highs in points (25.4 ppg) and assists (7.0 per game).

    Orlando is also dealing with significant injuries and is playing the second game of a back-to-back. Jalen Suggs (hip) has not played since Dec. 13, and Franz Wagner (ankle) missed his seventh straight game on Friday as the Magic fell 120-105 to the visiting Charlotte Hornets.

    Wagner, the team’s leading scorer at 22.7 points over 24 games, is starting to increase his activity while working his way back to action.

    ‘He’s just able to do spot shooting right now,’ Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said Friday. ‘Not a lot of pressure on the foot, but being able to walk around again is very important for us.’

    The Magic sit sixth in the Eastern Conference after losing six of their past 10.

    Paolo Banchero, who is second for Orlando in scoring at 20.1 points a game and leads in rebounding (8.3), and Desmond Bane, third on the team at 19.1 points per game, both had rough shooting nights on Friday. Banchero hit 4 of 13 from the floor and scored 13 points while Bane went 7 of 19 en route to 15 points.

    Bane and Banchero combined to finish 0-for-8 from 3-point range.

    The teams met Dec. 18 in Denver, a 126-115 win for the Nuggets. Jokic set the all-time assists record for centers in the win and had one of his 15 triple-doubles this season.

    Jokic has 179 career regular-season triple-doubles, two behind Oscar Robertson for the second-best total in NBA history. Russell Westbrook is the all-time leader with 207.

    –Field Level Media

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  • Magic end homestand in search of another win as Knicks continue road trip

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    (Photo credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images)

    The Orlando Magic look to complete a sweep of their three-game homestand on Saturday, welcoming a New York Knicks team in the middle of a five-game road trip.

    Orlando is 5-1 over its past six games, with defeats of the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday and Thursday. The Magic were especially dominant defensively against the Clippers, forcing them into 21 turnovers that Orlando converted into 33 points.

    The Magic also parlayed takeaways into fast-break opportunities, scoring a season-high 41 breakaway points.

    ‘Stops to get out and run,’ Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said, emphasizing he wants that to be a consistent identity for the Magic going forward. ‘That’s the point of our defense. We talk about the running game, but it only comes after you get the stops; not frantic, but the right way. Let your defense create your offense.’

    Mosley also offered praise for Jalen Suggs, who has come alive amid Orlando’s recent surge with strong all-around performances. He is averaging 14.5 points, 5.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game in November.

    Against the Clippers, Suggs was 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point range en route to a season-high 23 points, dished seven assists and came away with a pair of steals in one of his best performances of the season. His scoring pop helped the Magic endure the continued absence of Paolo Banchero, who missed his fourth consecutive game due to a groin injury.

    Banchero, who is averaging 21.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game on the season, last played in Orlando’s 124-107 win at New York on Nov. 12.

    Banchero sustained the injury that continues to sideline him during that meeting and was limited to 12 minutes. Franz Wagner picked up the slack with 28 points and nine rebounds, while Desmond Bane added 22 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

    Jalen Brunson scored 31 points, part of the two-time All-NBA guard’s 28.0 points per game output on the season. He missed the next two games due to an ankle injury — a pair of matchups with Miami, which the Knicks split — but returned to the lineup to score 28 points in a 113-111 win at Dallas on Wednesday.

    Landry Shamet was the Knicks’ hero in that one, knocking down a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:02 left in regulation and another with 31 seconds to go that broke a 109-109 stalemate.

    Shamet’s performance highlighted why first-year Knicks coach Mike Brown said he was intent on the eight-season veteran being a key contributor in 2025-26.

    ‘I was a big fan of him, watching (him) play last year and even prior,’ Brown told the New York Post. ‘For me, having him a part of this team completed the group. Now we have a lot of diverse guys. He’s just doing, in my opinion, what he’s capable of doing.’

    Shamet is one of eight Knicks scoring at least nine points per game in a minimum of 12 appearances this season. His 9.9 clip places him just outside the six Knicks averaging in double figures, led by Brunson and followed by Karl-Anthony Towns (21.5).

    –Field Level Media

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