Eastern Conference Recaps, Feb. 3: Second-Half Brawl Highlights Orlando Magic's Win Against Minnesota Timberwolves

The Orlando Magic’s bench led them to a 127-120 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but not before a massive brawl that led to five player ejections.

In the third quarter, Timberwolves guard Austin Rivers and Magic forward Mo Bamba threw punches near the Orlando bench. The fight spilled onto the court, resulting in other players getting involved. Once everything settled down, Rivers, Bamba, Jalen Suggs, Jaden McDaniels, and Taurean Prince were ejected.

“You obviously want to have your teammate's back and at the same time, you’ve got to be a professional," Magic forward Franz Wagner saidl. "So, that’s a challenge for a young team like us ... You don’t really want to be in those situations and it’s not really the best look. You want to be professional. At the same time, there is something in me that appreciates the team sticking together like that.”

Cole Anthony led the Magic with 20 points and Moritz Wagner had 19. D’Angelo Russell recorded 29 points and 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves and Anthony Edwards had 19 points.

NEXT MAGIC GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Feb. 11 in Orlando

OTHER NOTES:

-The Portland Trail Blazers rallied from a 20-point deficit to defeat the Washington Wizards 124-116. Anfernee Simons scored 33 points for the Trail Blazers and Damian Lillard had 29. Bradley Beal had 34 points for the Wizards and Kristaps Porzingis had 32.

NEXT WIZARDS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Apr. 7 in Washington

-Joel Embiid’s 33 points and 10 rebounds led the Philadelphia 76ers to a 137-125 win against the San Antonio Spurs. Tyrese Maxey had 25 points off the bench and James Harden had 16. Rookie Malaki Branham led the Spurs with a career-high 26 points and Keldon Johnson had 18.

NEXT 76ERS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Feb. 27 in Philadelphia

-The Detroit Pistons defeated the Charlotte Hornets 118-112 behind rookie Jaden Ivey’s 24 points. Saddiq Bey led all reserves with 22 while Bojan Bogdanovic had 21. LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier led the Hornets with 23 points and Jalen McDaniels had 14 off the bench.

NEXT PISTONS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Mar. 19 in Detroit

NEXT HORNETS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Feb. 25 in Charlotte

-Buddy Hield recorded 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 107-104 victory against the Sacramento Kings. Aaron Nesmith had 17 points and Myles Turner had 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Harrison Barnes led the Kings with 23 points and Kevin Huerter had 16.

NEXT PACERS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Feb. 8 at Miami

-The Phoenix Suns defeated the NBA-leading Boston Celtics 106-94 behind Mikal Bridges’ 25 points. Chris Paul scored 15 points while Dario Saric and Deandre Ayton had 14. Jaylen Brown scored 27 for the Celtics and Jayson Tatum had 20.

-Fred VanVleet’s 32 points helped the Toronto Raptors defeat the Houston Rockets 117-111. Gary Trent had 29 and Pascal Siakam had 23. Eric Gordon led the Rockets with 28 points and Alperen Sengun had 21.

NEXT RAPTORS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Mar. 28 in Toronto

NEXT ROCKETS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Feb. 10 at Miami

-The Atlanta Hawks defeated the Utah Jazz 115-108 behind Trae Young’s 27 points. De’Andre Hunter scored 26 and Onyeka Okongwu led all reserves with 15. Lauri Markkanen led the Jazz with 25 points and 10 rebounds and Jordan Clarkson had 24.

NEXT HAWKS GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Mar. 4 at Miami

NEXT JAZZ GAME AGAINST THE HEAT: Mar. 13 at Miami

Cory Nelson is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson. You can also check out his personal blog: https://substack.com/profile/114079068-cory-nelson?utm_source=account-card