Orlando, FL – Thursday, Feb. 8th was a nerve-wracking day for many fans of the Magic, as many speculated if the front office would make any trades today at the deadline, but the team decided to stay intact.
None of those nerves appeared to be a distraction in the slightest for this Magic team as they came out and had a dominating victory tonight over the San Antonio Spurs 127-111.
Two number-one overall picks in both Paolo Banchero and Victor Wembanyma faced off head-to-head tonight, but it was third-year forward Franz Wagner who stole the show. Franz dominated this game all evening and had a huge bounce-back game after struggling in their previous game in Miami. Franz finished the evening with 34 points on 13-17 shooting from the field, dishing out seven assists, and had seven boards.
Victor Wembanyma who was the tallest player on the court displayed some of his rookie struggles and bumps tonight as he appeared flustered all evening. Wembanyama was limited to 15 points on 6-12 shooting, he was a -11 on the floor and had one rebound all evening.
“We always talked about being physical.” Magic Head Coach Jamahl Mosley on the team’s defensive effort on Victor Wembanyma. “We gotta make sure we set the tone right away early. Our guys did a great job of taking on that challenge, reading the way he was playing, and being disruptive.”
Orlando came out and dominated that first half leading San Antonio 61 to 44 at half and holding the Spurs to just 40% shooting from the field, but the third quarter was all in favor of San Antonio.
Spurs fourth-year guard from Florida State Devin Vassell got anything and everything he wanted in that third quarter as he single-handedly scored 23 points in the quarter alone. San Antonio dominated on the inside in that third period getting downhill, scoring 20 points in the paint, and they cut the Magic lead to 93-83 with 1:09 remaining in the third quarter. After a 41-point quarter from the visiting Spurs, Orlando rallied together and found a way to close out this game.
“I think it just shows our growth, you know we’ve come a long way.” Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs when asked about the team’s ability to close out the game despite a late run from the Spurs. “We’re learning how to close games out, we’re learning how to play from ahead—there was never any panic, there was never any worry, I think a great night all around, collectively.”
Orlando had a very rare efficient night shooting from behind the arch as they shot a blistering 16 of 27 from deep. Orlando had three different players make three shots from deep Franz Wagner (3-4), Wendell Carter Jr (3-4), and Jalen Suggs (3-6). Orlando did a great job of also getting inside and scoring down low as they finished the evening with 58 points in the paint, and the team shot a clean 59.8% from the field.
You cannot talk about this game without talking about the high-level impact from both Mo Wagner and Jonathan Issac off the bench. Mo Wagner did a great job of getting under the skin of Victor Wembanyama defensively, scoring inside, and providing that energy for the second unit.
Jonathan Issac of course was flying all over the court on the defensive side of the ball with a huge highlight reel block on Wembanyama, and he had a huge alley oop slam in transition from Cole Anthony in the fourth that got the home crowd ignited. The impact of a healthy Jonathan Issac on the glass and the defensive side of the ball cannot be overstated enough, and it was on full display tonight.
The Magic have now swept the season series with the Spurs as this was the second time ever they’ve done it in franchise history, and the first time they’ve done it since 2008-09. Orlando began the first of the four-game home stand with a win, and they will look to make it two in a row Saturday evening versus the Chicago Bulls.