Magic Bench Battles, But Suns Pull Out Win on New Year's Eve
ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic is going into the new year on the wrong foot, falling 112-107 to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday evening at the Footprint Center.
The Magic played catch-up for most of the night against the Suns, who built a lead as large as 16 in the first half. However, the Magic battled back and never went away until the waning minutes of the game.
Orlando made its big run in the third quarter, trailing by 15 with 7:23 to go but cut that deficit to just two points by the end of the frame. The Magic even took a lead with 9:26 to go in the fourth quarter, but that was all Orlando could muster.
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With the Magic trailing by a point, Orlando went scoreless for nearly five minutes in the fourth quarter, ending any hope of a comeback.
The driving force behind the comeback was the bench, which outscored Phoenix 40-6. Out of those 40 points, 17 came from Wendell Carter Jr., who returned to the court after missing Friday's game with knee tendinitis. Cole Anthony also added 13 points of his own.
But of course, the Magic was led by its dynamic duo in the frontcourt. Paolo Banchero scored a team-high 28 while Franz Wagner was right behind him with 27.
For the Suns, Kevin Durant was simply too much, scoring a game-high 31. Bradley Beal had his best game in his Phoenix tenure with 25, while Devin Booker posted 21 of his own.
The Magic starts its 2024 calendar on Tuesday when the team visits Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. Tipoff is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET from the Chase Center.
