3 Winners, 2 Losers from the Magic's NBA Cup Victory

The Orlando Magic secured their second NBA Cup win of group stage play with a 107-99 win over the lowly Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.

The Magic have won three-straight after a very shaky 2-7 start, with those wins each coming against teams with one win (Kings, Jazz, Bucks). They can only beat who's on their schedule, however, winning those three contests by an average of 10.0 points.

Who were a few winners and losers? Let's examine!

Winner: Franz Wagner

Magic Bucks — Nov 13, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) drives around Milwaukee Bucks forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (24) during the second half at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The NBA yanked Wagner of his 10th rebound with a couple minutes left (stay tuned for later), but none of that should take away from another Franz Wagner masterclass.

The 6-foot-10 wing scored 35 points with nine rebounds and 12 assists in 36 minutes, shooting 13-of-22 from the floor, 3-of-8 from 3-point range and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. He also tallied one block and one steal in the Magic's eight-point win.

Wagner, who became the third-ever Magic player with multiple 35-point, 10-assist performances, has been on an absolute tear lately. The league's leader in drives is still getting to the paint at will, averaging 26.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 9.4 assists and 1.5 steals on 49.1/31.8/88.2 shooting splits over his last eight games.

Winner: Goga Bitadze

The Magic's backup big situation has been fairly shaky to begin the season.

First-year head coach Sean Sweeney is experimenting with double big lineups and doing his best to maximize the skillsets of each of the Magic's three bigs in Wendell Carter Jr., Goga Bitadze and 15-year vet Nikola Vučević.

Bitadze had his best all around game in Friday's win, scoring 12 points with four rebounds and one block in 18 minutes off the bench. He did a good job hovering around the dunker's spot and was the recepient of five lobs, accounting for all five of his field goal makes.

Loser: Anthony Black

Black has arguably been the Magic's second-best player this season, so this isn't a referendum on that. He just had a rough night.

Playing his third game in four nights on a sore ankle, Black scored just five points with five turnovers on 1-of-9 shooting, and 1-of-6 from 3-point range. He dished out five assists with two rebounds, one steal and two blocks.

He's been one of their saviors -- on both ends -- this whole season. And I thought he still played good defense on Tyler Herro and Co., but the 22-year-old just had a rough night offensively.

Winner: Desmond Bane

Is Desmond Bane the best NBA cup player that nobody knows about?

After Bane's 21-point, six-three effort in Friday's win over Milwaukee, Bane is averaging 28.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and one steal on 50.5 percent shooting and 50.0 percent shooting (20-40) from distance over his last five NBA Cup games.

Moreover, Bane's quietly shooting 47.3 percent from deep on 10.6 attempts per game over his seven games, averaging 20.4 points over that span, after a slow start. He now has his legs under him, and we know how deadly Bane is from all areas of the floor when that's the case. Bane's made at least five threes four times over that seven-game span.

Loser: The NBA for taking Franz Wagner's rebound off the board

Seriously?! Be better, NBA.

At 1:55 of the 2nd quarter tonight vs Milwaukee, the @NBA ruled that Goga Bitadze had a controlled tip, which counts as a rebound. With that, it takes one rebound away from Franz Wagner.

Wagner officially finishes tonight with 35 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.
— Orlando Magic PR (@Magic_PR) November 14, 2026

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