Magic Rally, Beat Spurs 112-111 on Paolo Banchero's Late Winner

Paolo Banchero's fallaway jumper with 24.7 seconds remaining gave the Orlando Magic a 112-111 win over Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) shoots a game winning basket against San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Barnes (40) during the 4th quarter at Kia Center. | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

ORLANDO, Fla. – Paolo Banchero, by his standards, had been quiet for three quarters.

But when closing time came, the basketball was in the third-year pro's hands — exactly where the Orlando Magic wanted it.

Banchero nailed a fallaway jumper with 24.7 seconds remaining — his eight and ninth points of the final quarter — to give Orlando a one-point lead.

"I just caught the ball, wanted to take my time and get to the spot that I was trying to get to," Banchero said. "I was confident that if I could get to that spot, I was going to make the shot."

When Victor Wembanyama's last-second shot missed, the Magic had a 112-111 victory.

"(Paolo) may have been struggling early on, but that's not going to deter who he is and what he's about," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. "He's a winner, and he's gonna try to find ways to win. He wasn't afraid of that moment, no matter how it was going early in the game, and that's the trust that we have in him."

"I think that's where we want the ball in the last couple of seconds," Franz Wagner said.

PAOLO BANCHERO HITS THE GAME-WINNING BUCKET 🚨🚨

He gives Orlando the victory in the final seconds!! pic.twitter.com/HUKWq9SKHH

— NBA (@NBA) February 9, 2025

For Orlando, Franz Wagner scored a game-high 33 points and added 12 rebounds — his third double-double this season. Perhaps his biggest play of the night, however, came directly before Banchero's go-ahead shot.

Wagner missed a turnaround hook shot but chased down his rebound near the end-line. Before falling out of bounds, Wagner called a timeout and saved Orlando's final possession.

"He was relentless. He kept attacking," acting Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said.

Back at the Kia Center for the first of 10 home games in their next 11, the Magic's win improved them to 26-28. And they had to battle for it — rallying from 13 points down in the third quarter, and then again down seven with 3:36 to play.

The Magic closed the game on a 10-2 run. The 14th lead change was the last one.

"Our ability to sustain those runs and not get rattled and stay poised and make the right plays down the stretch," Mosley said. "I thought our guys did a great job."

Besides Wagner's 33 and Banchero's 17, Anthony Black (20 points, 8-of-9 shooting), Jonathan Isaac (14) and Cole Anthony (13) all finished in double figures.

The Magic shot 51.1 percent from the field and 10-of-30 from three, scored 56 points in the paint, and 20 on second chances.

Orlando got one of the league's first looks at the Spurs' new pairing of De'Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama — a "very dangerous combination," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said pregame.

While the Magic did a good job of keeping Fox in check, Wembanyama posted 18 points, nine rebounds, four steals and four blocks. Devin Vassell's 25 points led a group of five double-digit scorers. Harrison Barnes had 21 points on seven threes, including six in the first quarter.

Magic guard Jalen Suggs sat out a seventh consecutive game as he continues to deal with a left quad contusion.

Up Next

The Magic host the Atlanta Hawks Monday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m. ET.

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