Magic Take Care of Business, Blow Past Lowly Wizards with Big 2nd Half

The Orlando Magic outscored the Washington Wizards 61-43 in the second half and ran away to a 110-90 victory. The Magic remain in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, three games behind Detroit for the final guaranteed playoff berth.

Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) defends Washington Wizards forward Tristan Vukcevic (00) during the second quarter at Kia Center. | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

ORLANDO, Fla. – For 24 minutes Sunday night, the Orlando Magic's battle with the nine-win Washington Wizards was uncomfortable.

Leading by only a basket at the break, the Magic used an overpowering second half to build a 26-point lead before earning a 110-90 home win.

The result improved Orlando to 29-30, seventh in the Eastern Conference.

In the postgame locker room, Paolo Banchero revealed there was no "rah-rah" message that inspired their better play in the second half. The players understood that they needed to turn up the heat.

"I think it was just a game that we felt like we should win," Banchero said. "There's no reason we shouldn't win this game."

Franz Wagner tallied 23 points to lead Orlando's scoring for the 29th time this season. Banchero added 19, making eight of his nine free throws.

The Magic's two centers, Wendell Carter Jr. and Goga Bitadze, each finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. Anthony Black tied a career-high with 23 points off Orlando's bench.

"When he got in the game, it was about picking up full-court, changing the game, let your defense create your offense," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said of Black's performance. "I loved his ability to push it in transition, and then once that happened, he was able to collapse the defense, find guys, one, and he was finding his opening by pushing the pace."

After letting victory slip away Friday against Memphis, Mosley said pregame Sunday that loss — and how it happened — put a chip on their shoulders.

"Ultimately, you know it's something that you could've taken care of and you didn't, so you bounce back and figure out the right way ... to take care of the games at home," Mosley said.

The first chance to make things right pitted the Magic against the Wizards, the owners of the NBA's two lowest team offensive ratings. The first half reflected the rankings.

Both teams shot under 41 percent from the field and combined for 17 turnovers and 25 personal fouls. Wagner's coast-to-coast score after blocking a shot was the difference at the break, with Orlando leading 49-47.

"There was no real flow," Mosley said. "When you can't find a flow within the game, it kind of takes a little bit of the rhythm out of what you're trying to do offensively and defensively."

In the second half, the Magic outscored Washington 61-43, using a 32-17 third quarter to take control. Orlando's starters rested for the final six minutes.

"I liked the way we responded," Mosley said. "It wasn't always pretty, but that third quarter, guys stepped up, our defense stepped up, [and] we were able to get out, run, and get some easy baskets."

"The way we finished possessions and the way we turned our defense into offense, I think that was a big difference between the first and the second half," Black said.

Orlando shot 44.4 percent from the field, 11-of-32 from three and made 19 of 22 free throws. The Magic forced 19 Wizards turnovers and scored 19 times on the extra possessions, then outscored Washington 54-36 in the paint, 17-10 on the second chance and 23-16 on fastbreak points.

The Magic, without starting point guard Jalen Suggs for a 12th straight game because of a left quad injury, held the Wizards to 41 percent shooting from the field and 10-of-38 from three.

Up Next

The Magic host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on TNT.

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