Orlando defeats Dallas 94-87 as Hurricane Nicole bears down on Florida
ORLANDO, FL – The Orlando Magic defeated the Dallas Mavericks 94-87 on a night where most of the state is hunkering down for an approaching hurricane.
With Hurricane Nicole heading towards the Florida East Coast, the Magic reset the stat time of the game to 5:30 pm to get the game in before impact, and a surprisingly large crowd of over 18,000 fans attended as the Magic won.
Dallas, with Luka Doncic having another stellar year so far, came into Orlando winners of four straight games, while Orlando, constantly plague with injuries, was without str rookie Paolo Banchero.
Franz Wagner ha a great game, putting on a show with 22 points, Chuma Okeke manning the duty of covering Luka Doncic and keeping on him, resulting in a 9 for 29 shooting night and 24 points.
Without Paolo, the Magic starters worked tirelessly to clamp down on the Mavericks, managing to keep their scoring to under 90 points, resulting in the Magic’s 3rd win.
The Magic bench contributed, outscoring the Mav’s bench 28-24 on the night.
Orlando dominated Dallas on the boards, grabbing 49 rebounds to 29 for the Mavericks.
Doncic expressed his frustration the end pop the game. After the last inbound pass, which he snapped into play, he marched off of the court at the buzzer, heading to the Dallas locker room, not shaking any hands.
Wendell Carter Jr kept playing as the anchor of the Orlando defense. He scored 13 points with 12 rebounds, acting as one of the 23 year old veteran on the team and the team’s big brother.
“I’m so poured of these guys.” Said Orlando Magic Head Coach Jamahl Mosley “They did a heck of a job sticking to the game plan. I’m so proud of this group. The fans energy lifted them up and the guys fed off of their energy.”
“I’m really happy with the poise. Our guys did a great job of not reacting, keeping their pointe during the stretch.”
The win snaps a to game losing streak for the Magic and splits the 2022 season vs Dallas 1-1
Orlando next hunkers down for hurricane Nicole as the Mav’s head down to Tamp to try to fly out of Florida. Orlando International Airport is closed due to the storm.
Orlando gets back on the court on Friday vs the Phoenix Suns.