Magic Secure Victory Over 76ers in Preseason Finale

Orlando, FL— There’s no place like home as the Magic took down the Philadelphia 76ers at the Kia Center in their preseason finale 114-99.

Regarding injuries, recently extended center Wendell Carter Jr was limited throughout the week (left ankle sprain). WCJ was a full participant in practice yesterday, and got the start this evening. Philadelphia on the flipside had a few key injuries themselves with Joel Embiid (knee management), Paul George (hyper-extended knee), and rookie Jared McCain (bruised lungs).

Orlando took today’s game as a ramp-up for the regular season. It had been nine days since they last played a game after they had to cancel last week’s game versus the Pelicans due to Hurricane Milton.

Preparing for the Regular Season After Extended Break

Head Coach Jamahl Mosley wanted to ensure that his players were ready for this Magic vs 76ers matchup after an extended period of time off.

“It’s not easy to manage. The time that we’ve had off from playing games has helped it a bit, you can monitor it in our facility—Guy’s might run longer stretches from the conditioning side, but then try to mix it up as best as possible within that time frame.”

With that in mind, Jamahl Mosley had Jalen Suggs, Paolo Banchero, and Franz Wagner play the entirety of the first quarter and the team collectively looked great. Banchero came out of the gates early on being aggressive, getting downhill with force, and finishing with 12 early first-quarter points.

Jalen Suggs Takes Control of the Offense

Jalen Suggs, who is now tasked with having the ball in his hands more and initiating the offense, did a phenomenal job this evening. Suggs appeared calm, poised, and firmly in control of the offense all evening.

“I think we’ve talked about that a ton during training camp,” Jamahl Mosley on Jalen Suggs running the offense. “Our communication on the sideline, he’s the coach out there in a lot of ways and we’re on the same page. His ability to get guys involved, knowing when to make the right play at the right time, seeing who hasn’t touched the ball in a while.”

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s Impact on Both Sides of the Ball

Excluding the team’s big offseason addition in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, all four of the other Orlando starters played over 20 minutes during the last Magic preseason game. KCP may not have filled the box score, but his impact was felt out there on both sides of the ball and is going to continue to be a big piece to the overall success of this team moving forward.

Jett Howard’s Confidence and Defensive Growth

Diving into the bench unit, second-year Guard Jett Howard checked into the game and played with his hair on fire. Howard, within four minutes of coming into the game in the second half, knocked down three triples and was shooting the ball with so much confidence. Howard would finish the evening with 11 points in 16 minutes of play, but it’s his growth on the defensive side of the ball that has allowed him to take that next step.

“To sum it all up just working on closeouts, working on getting through screens, getting over and learning the system,” Jett Howard on his growth defensively. “Honestly just making my mental right on the defensive end to match up with my offensive end, and just catching up with the rest of the group I feel like that’s what motivated me the most.”

Team Chemistry and Ball Movement on Display

Despite 16 turnovers this evening, the Magic overall did a very good job of moving the ball, knowing when to push the pace, getting downhill to attack the basket, and kicking out to shooters. Day by day and game by game, you can see the confidence and chemistry growing with this team, and tonight’s performance was just the beginning of what is to come moving forward.

Regular Season Ahead

The Magic preseason has officially concluded, as they will now look forward to their first regular season game in Miami to take on the Heat.