Orlando, FL – The Magic walked into the reigning champions of the NBA’s house with just eight players after Wendell Carter Jr. was reported to be out with a knee injury and Goga Bitadze would miss the game due to an illness, but the team did nearly the impossible to fight back from an 18-point deficit and leave Denver with a huge 122-120 victory against the Nuggets.
Orlando came into this game with one of the lowest number of active players in recent history. Still, thanks to huge scoring efforts from Paolo Banchero, Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs, and Mo Wagner each pouring in over 19 points on the night, they were able to outplay Jokic and the Nuggets. Defensively, the Magic were locking down the Nuggets players, forcing Nikola Jokic to miss more shots in this game than the past four games combined, and forcing Jamal Murray to miss nearly every shot from three-point range, the first time that this has happened to him after almost a month. After shutting down Denver’s dynamic duo, it was far easier for Orlando to ease back into the game.
On the other end of the floor, the Magic continued their hot streak from three-point land thanks to a career-high 7 threes from Suggs and contributed greatly to their stellar 47.2% from deep. Banchero had another huge game following his career game with a 32-point triple-double, including 15 free throws at a 78.9% clip, the same as Denver’s whole team. Orlando’s game plan allowed Bachero to play bully ball and get to the line, which worked to a tee. Despite some sloppy possessions leading to turnovers, Paolo’s game was an amazing all-around effort everywhere on the floor.
The Magic had just one active center this game in Mo Wagner. Still, despite their lack of size and depth, they were able to outrebound the champs, who are notoriously a good rebounding team with an average of 44.4 boards on the season, but they lost the rebounding battle tonight, which shows the fire that Orlando came into this game with. Chuma Okeke was an excellent example of the grit and grind that the Magic had in this game. A player who has gotten his minutes taken and has had to battle for a spot on this roster, but he balled out today with some great defense and pulled down seven boards, including a team-high three offensive rebounds, to prove his worth to this team.
The Magic rounded out the West Coast road trip with a statement win after being in a rough patch the past three games. They will travel back to Orlando with their heads held high to battle it out with their division rivals, the Atlanta Hawks. They will try to build off the energy from this game and keep their fire ignited as they return home before heading back on the road again.