Orlando, FL— After a dominating blowout performance on Tuesday evening over the Charlotte Hornets, the Magic were faced with a tall task against one of the hottest opponents in the NBA, the New Orleans Pelicans.
With Orlando in the midst of an eight-game homestand and having to play a tough slate of Western Conference teams they started off on the right foot with an emphatic win. Orlando played host to a red-hot Pelicans team that had won seven of their last eight games coming into tonight’s matchup and they blew them off the court tonight, 121-106.
To begin the game, that first period was very rocky for the Magic, and New Orleans was the much more physical team right out of the gates. The Pelicans got out to their largest lead of the game 12 points early in the first quarter as the entire team was shooting the ball well. CJ McCollumn knocked down a three, Brandon Ingram hit a few mid-range jumpers, and they got off to a 21-9 lead before they saw it evaporate quickly.
Orlando would rally back quickly in the first period with three triples from Jalen Suggs, a tough Cole Anthony layup over Larry Nance Jr, and a highlight-level reel alley-oop dunk in transition from Suggs to Markelle Fultz. Orlando would cut the deficit down to five points as they trailed 28-23 going into the second.
The Magic’s second unit led by both Cole Anthony and Mo Wagner brought the energy to start the second period and they helped fuel the team’s comeback. Mo Wagner shot a perfect 4-4 from the field in the second quarter and rattled off nine quick points, as Cole Anthony also chipped in eight points while knocking down two shots from deep. The Magic finished the period strong and would lead going into halftime 57-48.
Orlando continued to pedal to the medal in that second half and they would dominate the remainder of the game. A great defensive effort in the third period had Orlando leading by 20 points 95-75 heading into the final period of play.
New Orleans opened up the fourth period on a quick 10-0 run before the Magic went on a run of their own to close them out. Jonathan Issac had a putback layup after a missed layup attempt by Cole Anthony, Mo Wagner took a charge from Zion Williamson going down the lane, and Franz Wagner knocked down a shake-and-bake triple on the right wing that roared the crowd.
“I gotta give all this credit to…our fans were incredible tonight.” Magic Head Coach Jamahl Mosley on the crowd tonight. “This atmosphere and this group getting behind this special group of players is just something incredible that we can’t say enough about how much the support and energy in this area means to this group.”
Orlando never looked back as they built a 21-point lead, and closed out the Pelicans in dominating fashion. Zion Williamson was limited to just 20 points this evening and was forced into a season-high eight turnovers on the night. The Magic also forced New Orleans to shoot a porous 6 of 20 from behind the arch and they forced the Pelicans into 18 total turnovers on the evening, a phenomenal defensive effort by the entire team.
Jalen Suggs scored a team-high 22 points on 7 of 14 shooting from the field and connected on 3 of 8 from deep. Paolo Banchero recorded the second triple-double of his career tonight as he scored 20 points and chipped in 11 assists and 10 rebounds to go along with it as well. Despite a slow first half where Banchero was nearly shutout, Coach Molsey was very pleased with Banchero’s performance tonight and he stated,
“We’ve said that two nights in a row with him, that teams are loading up on him, defending him in different ways. He’s making the right play, the right pass, not forcing the game and then in the second half—he reads what the defense is doing, he adjusts as the game is going on and then he finds his time to attack and that’s the growth of a young man, but it’s also what an All-Star does. It’s what great players do. They adjust as he sees what the teams are doing and they thrive after that.”
Orlando has now won five games in a row and they will look to continue their hot streak as they will play host to the Sacramento Kings on Saturday evening.
