MINNEAPOLIS, MIN- Due to a fantastic performance by their bench unit, the Orlando Magic (21-32, 13th in East) defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves (28-27, 7th in West) on January Third, notching their 15th win in their last 27 games. With this said, their win versus the Timberwolves didn’t come without some serious controversy and altercations.
With 1:32 left in the third quarter, a rough fight broke out in front of Orlando’s bench with Timberwolves Guard Austin Rivers and Magic Center Mo Bamba getting into an altercation. According to numerous replays, Bamba departed off the bench to confront Rivers, before receiving multiple punches from Rivers that spilled over on the court.
Fortunately, Jalen Suggs managed to pull Rivers away from Bamba, helping cease the appalling brawl from worsening. In spite of this, Suggs swung Rivers to the court, causing Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels and Tauren Prince to react with brute force. To no surprise, NBA Referees James Williams, J.T. Orr, and Mitchell Ervin immediately ejected all five players from the game, are will likely receive fines and possible suspensions from the NBA in the coming days.
“This isn’t like a cool moment for me,” Rivers said following the brawl between Minnesota and Orlando. “I feel embarrassed. I’m the oldest on the team. I consider myself the leader of the team, or one of the leaders of the team. It was a weird game, and I don’t think that helped at all. If anything right now, I’m just (ticked off) that we lost, and that I had (something) to do with that. It doesn’t make me feel good.”
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first altercation Orlando has endured during the 2022-2023 season. On December 28th, 2022, Magic Center Moritz Wagner appeared to be knocked out by an incoming punch from Pistons Guard Killian Hayes, and a scuffle followed soon after. While Wagner was ejected for a flagrant foul, Hayes and Guard Hamadou Diallo were both ejected for their actions. Later, the NBA decided to give Hayes a three-game suspension without pay, while Wagner was suspended for two games without pay and Diallo was suspended for one game without pay. In addition, eight Magic players were suspended for one game for leaving the bench area during the altercation.
“You obviously want to have your teammate’s back and at the same time, you’ve got to be a professional,” Wagner said regarding Friday’s scuffle with Minnesota. “So, that’s a challenge for a young team like us. I think this time around we did a good job compared to last time. So, yeah, I don’t really know. It’s a weird dynamic. You don’t really want to be in those situations and it’s not really the best look. You want to be professional. At the same time, there is something in me that appreciates the team sticking together like that.”
Even with the absence of Rivers, McDaniels, and Prince for the fourth quarter, Minnesota began to mount a ferocious comeback against Orlando. After losing to the Magic 75-90 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves managed to cut the lead to seven points (121-114 ORL Lead) following a dunk by Anthony Edwards with 1:14 left. From there, Center Luka Garza made two straight-three point shots to make the score 126-120 Orlando, before the Magic took possession and drained the final 20 seconds of the game to win their eighth game of the season on the road.
In reference to the intense seven-point win over the Timberwolves, it was the Magic’s bench that deserves credit, scoring 72 of the team’s 127 total points. In 27 minutes off the bench, Guard Cole Anthony was stellar, recording a team-high 20 points, eight rebounds, and six assists while shooting 6-8 (75.0%) from the field. Likewise, Wagner scored 19 points on 6-10 (60.0%) shooting from the field, Bol Bol added 14 points on 6-9 (66.7%), and Suggs pitched in ten points, three assists, and a team-high three steals before being ejected.
“You’ve got to keep playing,” Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said. “You have to win the game between the lines. It’s not about all the talking. It’s not about any of that. You’ve got to make sure you play the right way, do the right thing, continue to share the basketball and continue to defend.”
Due to a fantastic scoring performance from their bench, Orlando was able to survive with the poor play of Star Forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. In 33 minutes, Banchero scored eleven points on just 3-16 (18.7%) shooting from the field, and committed four turnovers and three personal fouls. Wagner wasn’t much better, posting nine points, six rebounds, four assists, four turnovers, and three personal fouls in 34 minutes. Based on their overall play in the 2022-2023 season, Friday’s game appeared to be an off-night for Banchero and Wagner, who were both named to the 2023 NBA Rising Stars Tournament earlier this week.
With star Center Karl-Anthony Towns unavailable for the tilt versus Orlando, Minnesota relied heavily on Guard D’Angelo Russell for offensive production. Russell certainly didn’t disappoint, recording a game-high 29 points on 9-20 (45.0%) shooting from the field and 6-16 (37.5%) shooting from three-point range, along with ten rebounds and six assists in 38 minutes. Similarly, Guard Anthony Edwards (19/5/5) and Center Rudy Gobert (15/7/2) produced good statlines for Minnesota, which also got a season-high 17 points and six rebounds from Garza.
As a team, Orlando was quite efficient, going 45-85 (52.9%) from the field, 12-23 (52.2%) from three-point range, and 25-38 (65.8%) from the free-throw line. For comparison, Minnesota shot 40-87 (46.0%) from the field, 16-44 (36.3%) from three-point range, and 24-28 (85.7%) from the free-throw line. Turnovers and fouls were obvious issues for both teams, as the Magic and Timberwolves combined for 37 turnovers (17 ORL, 20 MIN) and 51 personal fouls (24 ORL, 27 MIN).
Following a highly emotional and physical game, both Orlando and Minnesota will play their next games on Sunday, January Fifth. To be specific, the Magic will travel to Charlotte to play the struggling Hornets (15-39, 14th in East) at 1 PM ET, while the Timberwolves will continue their six-game homestand, welcoming the surging Nuggets (36-16, 1st in West) to the Target Center, with tip-off at 7 PM ET.