Orlando, FL — A thrilling overtime victory tonight here at the Kia Center for the Orlando Magic, as they defeated the Chicago Bulls 114-108.
Orlando’s third-year forward Franz Wagner continues to shine as one of the bright young players in the association, posting his seventh 30+ point game tonight. Franz Wagner had 18 points through the first three quarters but took over in the fourth quarter and in overtime to fuel a comeback victory for this team.
Orlando after having a two-point lead at halftime found themselves down six points going into the fourth, and down double digits early in the period. Franz Wagner put the team on his back by getting a tough and-one layup over Dalen Terry, followed up by two huge three-pointers over Andre Drummond that set the crowd on fire, and cut the Bulls’ lead to 92-91.
Goga Bitadze, who was an integral part of the early season success of this team, got his number called with 9:19 remaining in the fourth quarter and he did not disappoint. Former Magic All-Star Nikola Vucevic had his way with Wendell Carter Jr all evening as he posted 26 points on an efficient 12-25 from the field, and Wendell was benched in favor of Goga’s defense.
“It’s a resilient group. It’s a resilient group of young men that are going to do whatever is necessary to find a way to push each other and get the win.” Magic Head Coach Jamahl Mosley on the team’s resiliency after this win. “We talk about winning as and the standard. You know, we didn’t play to our standard tonight. But, you know, it’s good to be able to clean those things up and win.”
Coach Mosley’s decision to go with length and defense paid off in that final period as both Goga and Jonathan Issac’s impact made a huge impact on the outcome of the game. In the final two minutes of regulation, Franz Wagner drove the ball, drew a double team, and hit Goga Bitadze with a huge alley-oop slam. In the ensuing possession, Demar Derozan went up for a layup attempt before Goga came up with a big-time block that got the crowd ignited.
Jonathan Issac’s impact cannot be overstated when he is on the court and how important he is to the success of this team. Just one game after stuffing Victor Wembanyma, Jonathan Issac met Alex Caruso at the bucket and swatted the ball back late in the third. Offensively Issac’s impact was just as important as he hit a three in the right corner late in the third, had six offensive boards, and had a big-time putback layup in overtime that extended the Magic’s lead to 111-106. Jonathan Issac’s 25 minutes tonight was his most minutes in an NBA game since Dec. 30, 2019, versus the Atlanta Hawks where he played 33 minutes in that contest.
Late in overtime after Demar Derozan got an easy dunk at the rim to cut the Bulls’ deficit to three, the Magic found a way to put this team away. Goga got fouled on the team’s next possession knocking down one of his two free throw attempts, and Franz Wagner sealed the game by knocking down two more free throws to seal the game.
Franz Wagner finished with a game-high 36 points, shooting 12-22 from the field, 5-12 from deep, and he was by far the best player on the court tonight. In all seven of Franz’s contests where he scores 30 or more points, the Magic are undefeated in all of those games.
Cole Anthony, who had been in a bit of an offensive slump lately not only got back on track but helped close this game out in winning fashion. In 30 minutes tonight, Cole Anthony shot 5-11 from the field, had 11 rebounds, and was a game-high +16 off the bench.
This was the third of four matchups between these teams this season, and with this win tonight the Magic have the advantage in the season series as they’ve won all three matches so far. The Magic have now improved to 29-24 on the season, and 17-7 at home. Orlando will have the next few days off before playing host to Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Feb 13th for a highly anticipated matchup, and it will also be the retirement of Shaquille O’Neale’s jersey.