The Orlando Magic defeated the Washington Wizards 126-109 on Tuesday night in the Kia Center. With the win, the Magic improved to 19-9 in games coming off of a loss.
“Every game counts for us at this part of the season and we’re trying to fight for position in the standings,” Magic forward Paolo Banchero said. “Just taking the one game at a time and just singular focus [matters].”
Banchero led the game with a season-high 37 points, while rookie Will Riley led Washington with 19. Wizards center Julian Reese, the brother of WNBA star Angel Reese, had a career-high nine points and eight rebounds in his second NBA game.
“[Reese is] super solid,” Wizards coach Brian Keefe said. “He’s just learning our system, and he’s done really well with that. Give the coaches credit and him for studying that stuff. But you know, we can run our offense through him. You can see his passing ability. He’s fit, he’s big, he’s physical, he’s a good rebounder. I think he’s given us some good minutes here.”
Game flow
First quarter
Both teams were without multiple starters. Wendell Carter Jr. (ankle) and Anthony Black (quad) were out for Orlando. The Wizards had nine players out due to injury, leaving them with only nine available players.
Banchero had 13 points in the first eight minutes of the game, a season high for him in the first quarter. The forward outscored the Wizards for the first nine-and-a-half minutes, with Washington only surpassing Banchero once he checked out.
“We challenged [Banchero] early just because we knew the size was gonna be advantage,” Mosley said. “And then [he was] able to get out and get early seals. We knew that was gonna be something for us, and they were gonna collapse, and he did a great job.”
After Banchero went to the bench, the Wizards ended the quarter on a 13-6 run. Washington cut the lead to three points to end the first after Orlando led by as many as 12.
“You know, I think sometimes when things come too easily in games like this, you tend to take it for granted and I think we got a little loose,” Mosley said. “That’s when we saw the lull.”
Second quarter
To start the second quarter, Washington went on a 7-2 run to claim the team’s first lead of the game off a Jaden Hardy three. Hardy ended the second quarter with nine points.
Orlando responded with a 7-0 run powered by rookie Noah Penda, who had three points and one assist. The Wizards cut the lead to two multiple times after the Magic took the lead but failed to tie or reclaim it.
Desmond Bane led the quarter with 14 points, with all of his points coming from layups or free throws. In the first half, the Magic shot 1/11 from three point range.
Third quarter
Coming out of halftime, Orlando went on a 12-2 run, including five points from both Banchero and Bane. The Magic would continue to grow their lead as the quarter progressed, making all five three-point attempts.
“Jevon [Carter] talks about just trusting your shot, trusting your work,” Bane said. “I liked that we remained aggressive and continued to take all the open ones. The more threes we hit, the harder we are to guard.”
Once again, Banchero had a 13-point quarter to give Orlando a 25-point lead. The Wizards would rally after his substitution, ending the third on a 7-3 run.
“We challenged these guys after halftime,” Mosley said. “We didn’t close out that second quarter the way we’d like to. So that was a great talking point. At halftime, how did we want to respond? And they did a great job of responding in that third quarter.”
Fourth quarter
Orlando carried the momentum into the final quarter, starting off on a 9-0 run on back-to-back-to-back threes by Bane and Jevon Carter. The Wizards would respond with a 10-2 run to cut the lead to 17 with six minutes left in the game.
“[Carter has] been great,” Banchero said. “Having him on the team has just been a great thing for us. He’s a natural leader, natural kind of floor general point guard type of guy. He’s a guy that when he speaks, you got to listen to. He’s not afraid to tell a guy what he’s doing wrong, but at the same time he lets you know when you’re doing good and doing stuff right.”
The Magic went on a 12-4 run, including six by both Banchero and Jett Howard to lead by 25 with four minutes to go. Mosley emptied Orlando’s bench unit, which was outscored 14-6 to end the game.
Orlando improved to 18-5 against teams below .500 with the victory, while the Wizards dropped to 4-35 against teams above .500. Washington’s record against teams with winning records is the worst in the NBA.
Next up
The Magic play the final game of their four game homestand on Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks. Coming into the game, the Mavericks have won 10 of their last 12 against Orlando.
“I think basketball’s a game of runs, but you don’t want to give teams life early in the game because sometimes it can carry over,” Banchero said. “Against Dallas or another team, you don’t want that same thing to happen because guys can get hot and get confident if you let them.”
Tip-off against the Mavericks is set for 7 p.m. on March 5.