ORLANDO, FLA- As a result of stellar play from rising stars Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero, the Orlando Magic (8-20, 13th in East) convincingly defeated the Toronto Raptors (13-14, 9th in East) 111-99 on December 11th in the Amway Center. In reference to Friday’s and Sunday’s wins versus Toronto and Wednesday’s 116-111 OT Win versus Los Angeles, Orlando has now won three games in a row for the first time since February of 2021. The Magic also managed to avenge their 108-121 loss to the Raptors on December 3rd, and now lead the season series 2-1.
“You put three games in a row — I think we’re headed in the right direction,” Magic Head Coach Jamahl Mosley said. “We’re asking our guys to defend at a high level, which they did. We’re asking them to move the basketball, which they did, and to stay poised down the stretch which they’ve done.”
Just two days after recording a season-high 34 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals on 12-15 (80.0%) from the field versus Toronto, Wagner notched a team-high 23 points, three rebounds, and four assists on 6-14 (%) shooting from the field and 3-5 (60.0%) from three-point range, elevating Orlando to the 13th seed in the Eastern Conference. During the Magic’s three-game win streak, Wagner has been especially pleased with Orlando’s growth as a team.
“I think we’re figuring stuff out, especially these last couple games,” Wagner said. “People are beginning to adjust to how we play and throw different stuff at us, so we’ve got to keep working.”
In addition to Wagner, Banchero continued his excellent play for Orlando, posting 20 points, twelve rebounds, and five assists while shooting 6-14 (%) from the field in the Magic’s twelve-point win. In reference to this, Banchero has now scored double-digit points in 16 of his first 21 games, and is averaging 34.9 MPG, 21.8 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 3.8 APG, 0.6 BPG, and 0.8 SPG while shooting 45.5% from the field this season. So far, Banchero appears to be the frontrunner for the 2022-2023 NBA Rookie of the Year Award Winner, and would be the first rookie to win the award for the Magic since Mike Miller (2000-2001).
Outside of Wagner and Banchero, two other players scored double-digit points for Orlando. Most notably, Center Mo Bamba recorded 18 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks on 6-6 (100.0%) shooting off the bench. Likewise, Guard Cole Anthony added 14 points, six rebounds, and six assists on 5-9 (%) shooting alongside Bamba off the bench. Following a 15-point, five-assist outing versus Toronto on Friday, Markelle Fultz was quiet on Sunday, posting just seven points and four assists in 23 minutes.
Unlike Friday’s game versus Orlando, 2022 All-NBA Third Team Player Pascal Siakam was stifled on Sunday, notching 19 points, six rebounds, and seven assists on just 6-16 (%) shooting from the field and 0-4 (0.0%). Due to this, Fred Vanvleet and Gary Trent Jr served as the Raptors’ lead scorers, recording 20 and 24 points, respectively, but went a combined 12-29 (%) from the field and 5-15 (33.3%) from three-point range.
“It was a little bit of a gut punch,” Van Vleet said after Toronto’s second straight loss to Orlando. “It just wasn’t our night tonight, which is why you have to take care of business on Friday night. We had some critical breakdowns to give them threes at the wrong parts of the game, especially late in the fourth quarter.”
