Orlando, FL – In just their second home game of the season, the Orlando Magic defeated the Los Angeles Lakers tonight at the Amway Center 120-101.

A game that didn’t feature Markelle Fultz, Gary Harris, or Wendell Carter Jr for Orlando and they convincingly won this game. Anthony Black got the first start of his NBA career tonight and helped set the tone early on for this entire Magic team.
The Magic opened up the first quarter in dominating fashion that featured multiple Paolo Banchero threes, both Anthony Black and Jalen Suggs making great hustle plays on both ends, and the Magic connecting on 5-8 from behind the arc in the first period.

Los Angeles went on a 10-2 run to open the second quarter but the Magic responded very quickly. Mo Wagner scored six straight points, both Banchero and Cole Anthony were making jumpers, and Franz Wagner was scoring everywhere on the floor.
Orlando would go into the halftime locker room leading the Lakers 67-51.

Orlando, despite giving up 29 third-quarter points, found themselves in total control of the period and the rest of the second half. The Lakers switched to a zone defense about midway through the third and Orlando responded nicely. Paolo put on an array of moves on Lebron James and finished at the basket, Jalen Suggs was grabbing what felt like every board, and Goga Bitzade was playing superb defense.
Orlando was a bit rocky in the fourth down the stretch but a big block from Banchero on Austin Reaves and Cole Anthony helped fuel them to extend their lead to 113-97 with 4:04 remaining in the game, before closing them out.

I asked Magic Head Coach Jamahl Mosley after the game about the message to the guys in the locker room after a statement win and he simply said “Keep defending.” Orlando limited the Lakers to 44% shooting from the field, 26% from deep and they also had nine blocked shots.

Franz Wagner led the Magic with 26 points and Banchero put on another impressive performance as he scored 25 points on 9-15 shooting from the field and was 2-4 from deep. Jalen Suggs finished with nine points, six rebounds, and five assists. In Anthony Black’s first start of his career, he finished with 11 points, four rebounds, one steal, and had a team-high +32 when on the court.

Orlando played a phenomenal game from start to finish, and has now improved to 4-2 on the season, and they have split their season series with the Lakers one piece. Orlando will play host to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday evening at the Amway Center.