Orlando, FL– A night that featured four key players for Orlando sidelined due to injury, was far from an issue as the Magic dominated the Pistons tonight 123-91.
The Magic came into tonight’s matchup knowing they would be without their two-headed monster on the defensive side of the ball in both Jalen Suggs and Jonathan Issac. Detroit got off to a quick start as they went on an 18-12 run to open the game, but it was collectively a dominating performance by the Magic for the remainder of the game.
After the Magic found themselves trailing early, they used a 14-0 run in the first quarter led by Goga Bitadze and Paolo Banchero to spark the Magic’s dominant performance tonight. Goga led the Magic’s offense in that first period as he dominated on the inside with 11 points on 5-5 shooting from the field. Banchero got in on the action as he shot a nice turnaround on Isiah Stewart, had a tough layup in transition, and finished the quarter with six points.
Orlando did a great job of maintaining the lead and performing at a high level in the second quarter as they outscored the Pistons 30-21 in the period. Banchero scored another eleven points after a strong first quarter, and Franz Wagner scored eight in the second alone. Orlando went into the halftime locker room up 58-44.
All gas no brakes was the mantra for the Magic in the second half as they closed out the Pistons with an all-around impressive effort. Franz hit two quick layups and followed it up with a stepback three at the top of the key scoring a quick seven points for the Magic in the third period. Gary Harris got involved in the action as he hit a corner three from Franz Wagner and shortly after lobbed up a beautiful pass to Goga who did the rest.
The Magic closed out this Pistons team and limited them to just 47 points in the entire second half as they would go on to win their 15th game of the season. Detroit still holds the longest losing streak in the NBA as they now have their 19th loss in a row.
After the game Head Coach of the Orlando Magic Jamahl Mosley was asked about the defensive effort of the team without Jalen Suggs and Jonathan Isaac and he said, “We, we do it by committee. So with those guys out, so yes we understand what that is, but this group continues to embrace who we are and what we are capable of doing together.”
Franz Wagner led all Magic scorers tonight with 27 points on an efficient 12-20 from the field. Paolo Banchero followed up his career-high performance on Wednesday evening with another strong output as he scored 24 points on the Pistons. Goga Bitadze was the other bright spot for the Magic as he contributed 13 points and four blocks on the night.
Orlando will have the weekend off as they prepare to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night here at the Amway Center.