After a long and strenuous five game road trip that lasted for nearly two weeks, the Orlando Magic (17-28) return home with a 123-110 win against the shorthanded New Orleans Pelicans (26-20).
Prior to tonight’s matchup, the Orlando Magic were without Kevon Harris and Caleb Houstan who are both fulfilling their G-League assignments, Chuma Okeke (left knee surgery), Admiral Schofield (inactive), and Jonathan Isaac who is ramping up is recovery progression as he is now listed as ‘competition reconditioning’. As for the Pelicans, they remained without their two star players Zion Williamson (right hamstring strain) and Brandon Ingram (left toe contusion). Alongside the main duo, E.J. Liddell (right ACL recovery), Naji Marshall (toe soreness), and Dereon Seabron (G-League assignment) were all listed to be inactive.
For the opening quarter, the Pelicans were the first ones to strike as they were able to put up 30 points with such ease as they were shooting 50% from the field while the Magic were off to a slow start: Putting up 23 points while shooting 42.9% from the field and 33.3% from three. At one point, the Magic had found themselves with a 14 point deficit before responding with a 15-8 run to cut into the early lead. During the second quarter, the Magic had amped up their offensive efficiency as they had scored 33 points while shooting 52.6% from the field and 50% from the arc. Additionally, Franz Wanger played a large part in the Magic’s offense as he had scored 13 points while dishing out 3 assists in that quarter alone. Defensively, the Magic had allowed the Pelicans to have another 30 point quarter while holding them to under 50% shooting from the field. With the half concluded, the Magic found themselves trailing 60-56 with Wagner already having 21 points and 6 assists. The other notable stats from the half included Pelicans’ Jonas Valanciunas with 14 points, 5 rebounds, and CJ McCollum with 11 points.
With a new half started, both teams continued to find success in their offenses as they each had another 30 point quarter with it being in favor for the Magic. Furthermore, both teams were near the 50% mark from the field while the Magic were capitalizing on the deep ball, shooting for 66.7% from three. Gary Harris had erupted for the Magic’s offense in that third quarter as he was responsible for four massive threes that helped bring the lead within 3 points (91-88) heading into the fourth quarter. Starting off the final quarter of play, the Magic had jumped out to a 19-6 scoring run which allowed them to regain their first lead since the 6:19 mark in the second quarter. The large scoring run that the Magic had went on proved to be insurmountable as they closed out the quarter scoring 35 points and never looking back. The Magic’s defense in the fourth also had an integral role in their victory as they held the Pelicans to 19 points off of 38.1% shooting from the field.
The Magic were led by none other than Franz Wagner who nearly had a double-double with 30 points and 9 assists while receiving additional help from players such as: Cole Anthony with 22 points, Gary Harris with 15 points, Bol Bol with 12 points, and Paolo Banchero with 11 points and 6 assists.
As for the Pelicans, CJ McCollum led the way with 23 points and 7 assists with the others chiming in: Jonas Valanciunas with a double-double 20 points and 10 rebounds, Trey Murphy III with 18 points and 6 rebounds, Jose Alvarado with 17 points, Jaxson Hayes with 14 points and 6 rebounds, and Herbert Jones with 10 points before fouling out.
Highlights
What’s Next?
In less than 24 hours, the Orlando Magic (17-28) will have to catch a flight to the nation’s capital as they have a date with the (19-26) Washington Wizards. Although it’s only a little more than halfway into the season, this matchup will be an important one for both teams as they currently sit a few games shy of the final play-in spot. On the season, the Wizards are averaging 111.9 points per game while defensively they allow their opponents to 113.2 points per game.
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