The Orlando Magic continued their west coast road trip on Friday night. Playing their second of four on the road, Orlando rolled into Utah for a battle with the Jazz. Although Jalen Suggs missed the latter half of Tuesday’s matchup, he was fully cleared to play in this one.
Recap
The first half was interesting to say the least. The Magic got off to a sluggish start and finished the quarter trailing 28-12. Orlando bounced back in the second quarter, however, outscoring the Jazz 27-16. A significantly higher-scoring third and fourth quarters saw the Magic falter late. In the end, Utah pulled off the home win, 114-99.
This was nearly a perfect storm for the Magic. In a season where winning is not a priority, it is important to get young players experience on the court. That is what happened tonight. With the traditional starting lineup of Wendell Carter Jr., Mo Bamba, Cole Anthony, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs, the Magic starters played big minutes and saw plenty of opportunities.
Carter Jr. led the team in scoring and rebounding with 22 points and nine rebounds. Despite a game-high seven turnovers, Anthony cashed in a solid performance. He connected on all three of his triples and scored 18 points, collected six rebounds, and dished five assists.
All in all, the Magic did plenty to stay competitive with one of the best teams in the league. They shot 44% from the field, swiped 12 steals, dished 23 assists, and sank 13 triples. Unfortunately, the Jazz were just as good or better across the board in this one.
Up Next
Orlando heads to Phoenix to take on the best team in the NBA. The Suns, winners of four straight, will be playing their seventh consecutive Eastern Conference team as they host the Magic on Saturday, February 12.
(Featured image by Rick Bowmer/AP)