Orlando, FL – The Magic battled the number one seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in a hard fought game and came out victorious with a 108-106 victory at the Target Center.
This was a game where Orlando capitalized on their strengths and closed out the game better than they have most games this season. All of Orlando’s starters were double digits in scoring this game and they stuffed the stat sheet in this game.
There was constant pressure on the rim all game long, which forced Minnesota’s two best defenders into foul trouble early into the game, leading to Jaden McDaniels to miss crucial portions of the game and Rudy Gobert to play passively when Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr. were working the paint. To Gobert’s credit, his size was an issue all night long seeing as he had a game high 10 free throws off of 11 attempts.
The Magic were able to hold their own defensively against Minnesota’s electric offense and forced just 31.6% shooting from deep from the Wolves and held the young star Anthony Edwards to 22 points, respectably below his season average of almost 26 points per game. Orlando’s defense led to 11 steals for the unit and 17 fast break points as a result.
Where the Magic really showed up was in the fourth quarter. The defense was on a whole different level, with the team stopping Minnesota from scoring for two straight minutes and forcing bad threes from everyone. Only 18 points were scored by the Timberwolves in the closing quarter, a testament to the Magic’s clamps. Orlando’s centers stepped up in wake of Gobert’s passive defense in his attempt to stay in the game, which opened up opportunities for easy kick outs to the perimeter or backdoor cuts, which made for some beautiful basketball to watch for Magic fans.
After such a morale raising win against a title favorite in the league, the Magic will have their heads high as they head to Detroit to face one of the worst teams in the NBA and will look to propel themselves into the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference.