Orlando, FL – The Orlando Magic (29-30) beat the Washington Wizards (9-47) 120-90 at the Kia Center on Sunday, on Orlando Magic mascot Stuff’s birthday.
Orlando, trying to forget the end-of-game miscues of their last game against Memphis, came out with a chip on their shoulder against the reconfigured Wizards, who now play without Kyle Kuzma, who was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Among the newcomers for Washington, Khris Middleton and Marcus Smart were both injured, along with the seemingly often-injured Malcolm Brogdon.
The night proved to be a good reset for the Magic after the Memphis loss, even though the team was somewhat off with their flow in the first half. But with stronger focus and increased defensive intensity, Orlando returned to form.
Orlando and Washington played a fairly even first quarter, both teams feeling their way through, though neither team cracked 40% field goal percentage.
Things picked up a bit, but the Wizards were effective in frustrating the Magic in the paint, causing misses as Orlando players tried to finish drives.
Orlando managed to build a seven-point lead in the second quarter, but their scoring issues reared their head again as Orlando proved to be ineffective from deep.
Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero carried the Magic in the first half with 14 and 11 points, respectively, but the Magic went two for ten from 3-point range, allowing Washington to keep it close.
None of the Wizards squad scored in double digits, but they managed to keep the first half close, closing it out down 49-47. Washington managed to get two clock violations on the Magic with defense, and both teams managed to keep their turnovers under 10 for the first half.
Orlando came out ready to play in the third quarter. They played with more focus and were able to force more errors on the Washington side.
Increased defensive intensity seems to always be the signature of this Magic team’s success, and when they turned to it in the third quarter, not only was the game flow smoothed out, but they managed to build an 18-point lead on the Wizards.
Magic Head Coach Jamahl Mosley agreed that focus and intensity have been key to Orlando’s success.
“I think in that first half, I think we were focused coming out, again, but that flow changed the way we had to do things. So, you had to adjust the way the game was being called, how we needed to defend the right way. So, there was no rhythm, but I thought our focus was good, then the intensity, to your point, in that third, we turned it up, and I realized that we have to dictate the game with our defensive intensity, our defensive energy, allowing us to get easy baskets.”
After a few hiccups, including a couple of offensive fouls by Wendell Carter Jr., Orlando built their lead up to 19 in the third quarter, ending the quarter up 81-64.
Into the fourth quarter, Orlando switched personnel to Goga Bitadze, Jett Howard, Jonathan Isaac, Anthony Black, and Franz Wagner, and two minutes into the quarter, and 20 points down, the Wizards called a timeout.
Paolo Banchero scored 19 points in the game, while Wendell Carter Jr. and Goga Bitadze put in 11 for Orlando.
Howard managed to match Franz Wagner with the game-high score at 23, which was a career-high score for Howard.
Orlando managed to take a 26-point lead in the fourth quarter, finishing the blowout up 20.
Jordan Poole was the top scorer for Washington with 16 points, while Bubba Arrington scored 13 off the bench.
Meanwhile, Stuff, who celebrated his birthday with several mascot friends from around the NBA, including the Phoenix Suns Gorilla and Burnie from the Miami Heat, performed his usual acrobatics and hijinks, including a spectacular high-flying dunk over a huge birthday cake.
As for the Magic, things continue on Tuesday when they host the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers.
