Orlando, FL – The Orlando Magic hosted their first in-season tournament game in their franchise’s history and it came in winning fashion as they defeated the Toronto Raptors 126-107.
Orlando came out of the gates firing on all cylinders and was playing complimentary basketball on both sides of the ball in that first half. Jalen Suggs brought the energy by pushing the ball in transition, hustling for deflections, and hitting his jumpers consistently. Goga Bitadze was anchoring the defense on the interior and Cole Anthony was dishing the ball exceptionally well to his teammates with seven assists in the first half. Orlando would finish the half shooting 56% from the field, 46% from deep, and they had 19 assists as they led Toronto 67-56 going into the locker room.
The second half was nothing short of spectacular for the Magic as they opened up the third quarter on a 13-6 run, and Jalen Suggs was making plays everywhere on the court. Suggs had a great pass to Franz for a layup in transition, then a tough and-one layup on the other end, followed up by shaking Pascal Siakam out of his shoes and hitting a midrange jumper over him.
Led by Paolo Banchero who finished with a team-high 25 points, the Magic closed out the Raptors in dominating fashion. Banchero continued to attack the rim, hit his jumpers with efficiency, and truly played a complete game from start to finish.
After the game, I asked Head Coach of the Magic Jamahl Mosley about the ball movement the team displayed and he had this to say, “I thought it was beautiful. There was like three or four possessions where Franz calls out the play and he says they’re in zone and we’ve got a package for that. I cannot give my coaches enough credit for the way in which they’re preparing these guys to understand every situation.”
Orlando now improves to 9-5 on the season and 2-1 in their in-season tournament play. The Magic will be playing host to the Denver Nuggets tomorrow evening at the Amway Center.
