Second-half surge powers Magic past Wizards

Jason Beede, Orlando Sentinel on Feb 23, 2025

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ORLANDO, Fla. — For the Orlando Magic to get back on the track in the final stretch of the regular season, the opportunity to beat up on teams with a below-.500 record can’t be passed up.

That included Sunday night against the nine-win Washington Wizards, who entered on a five-game losing streak.

Although it took a half of basketball for Orlando to find its footing on offense, Jamahl Mosley‘s squad handled its business with a 110-90 win inside a packed Kia Center.

Led by Franz Wagner’s 23 points, the Magic racked up 54 points in the paint, outrebounded Washington 47-36 and held the Wizards to under 100 points in the 20-point home victory.

“The other night took its toll on us a little bit,” Mosley said in reference to Friday’s 1-point home loss to Memphis. “Our ability to respond the right way, it wasn’t always pretty but [in] that third quarter, guys stepped up, our defense stepped up and we were able to get out and run.”

While Orlando was without All-Defensive guard Jalen Suggs (left quad contusion) for the 12th straight contest, Washington (9-47) didn’t have No. 2 pick Alex Sarr (left ankle sprain), recently acquired three-time All-Star wing Khris Middleton (ankle injury management), three-time All-Defensive guard Marcus Smart (right index finger injury management) and veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon (left ankle sprain).

Orlando (29-30) improved to 14-1 when holding opponents to fewer than 100 points.

The Magic, however, will face tougher competition Tuesday night when they host the No. 1 Cavaliers in front of a national TV audience on TNT.

What worked

Wagner powered Orlando’s offense early when he notched 14 points in the first half by regularly cutting to the basket for points in the paint. Although he shot 1 of 7 from 3, he was 10 of 15 from elsewhere on the floor.

Taking advantage of defensive mismatches, Paolo Banchero (19 points) also attacked the basket but wasn’t as efficient when he shot 5 of 12 from the floor. He made up for those misses at the free throw line where he went 7 of 8 in the first half.

Those drives to the paint eventually opened up the perimeter for Orlando, which started the second half 4 of 5 from beyond the arc after it shot 2 of 10 before the break.

A 19-4 run to start the third quarter allowed the Magic to create some second-half separation after they led only by 2 points at intermission.

Second-year guard Anthony Black (23 points and seven rebounds) and reserve center Goga Bitadze (11 and nine) each provided a boost off the bench with their scoring around the rim.

Black also made four 3-pointers, which led the team.

“Obviously we had the slow start [and] did a good job defensively in the first half, but our offense came alive in the second half,” Black said. “We started stringing together three, four stops and we went on a pretty big run.”

What didn’t

As the Wizards pushed the pace in transition, the Magic weren’t as sharp on defense as they would have liked in the first half.

Orlando sent Washington to the free throw line 16 times before the break, where it made 11. The Wizards, however, attempted just six free throws in the second half.

“The flow was just a little bit off,” Mosley said of the first half. “The calls were being made, a couple of fouls here. … There was no real flow.

“When you can’t find a flow within a game, it kind of takes a little bit of the rhythm out of what you’re trying to do offensively and defensively,” he added.

Although 3-point shooting powered Orlando’s second-half surge, it still shot just 34.4% from distance on the night, which was above their league-low percentage (30.5%).

The Wizards are the second-worst 3-point shooting squad (33.4%) and they shot well below their average against the Magic (26.3%).

After recording double-digit scoring in seven of the past nine games, Cole Anthony had a quiet night when he missed his first six shots from the field and posted just five points in 21 minutes.

Rookie watch

Tristan da Silva hit Orlando’s first 3 in the final minute of the first quarter but picked up two quick fouls late in the opening frame.

It was the lone make for the No. 18 pick who played a limited 6 minutes.

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