Orlando Magic win in Miami prevents major firestorm from engulfing franchise

The Magic overcame a 68-59 halftime deficit, ending a four-game losing streak.

Dec 3, 2022; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley has been the only head coach Paolo Banchero has had in the NBA. Here are the two interacting in his rookie season. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

The Orlando Magic looked headed to their fifth straight loss at halftime of their matchup with the Miami Heat, trailing 68-59. Jamahl Mosley’s team was again having issues getting stops, surrendering 41 second-quarter points.

No one is going to divulge whether Mosley was close to being dismissed had Orlando lost in South Florida. There’s no question that when a team isn’t responding and seems to be lacking an identity in sputtering to four straight double-digit losses, showing no improvement is going to have alarms blaring in the front office.

The second half could’ve gone really poorly for the Magic. If they let go of the rope, Orlando would’ve dropped another game in lopsided fashion, setting the table for Mosley and Paolo Banchero to answer questions about their relationship amid adverse conditions.

Paolo Banchero and Jamahl Mosley are reportedly not seeing eye to eye right now, per @BannedMacMahon pic.twitter.com/H90E8P6T9p

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 28, 2026

There’s a lot of noise around Orlando at the moment, and that’s the norm in the NBA when you’re losing. Even though reports that there’s a rift between the head coach and his star are coming from outside the city, ESPN NBA reporter Tim McMahon isn’t the first to report that the two have been at odds and almost certainly won’t be the last. 

A dominant 40-20 third quarter and subsequent 133-124 win over the Heat served as a fire extinguisher for the flames that could’ve made Wednesday night memorable for all the wrong reasons. Although Mosley addressed the rumors pre-game, he didn’t necessarily issue a denial, instead just saying that he and Banchero are competitive guys.

Banchero didn’t go out of his way to say he and Mosley have a great relationship, but showed proper respect and said there is no rift. 

“He’s helped me a lot. We have a lot of open communication, you know. I wouldn’t say, whatever those reports are, I wouldn’t say those are true,” Banchero said. “I think one thing that I know about myself and one thing that I know about him is that we’re both fierce competitors, so when you’re losing a lot of games and stuff’s not going well, people are upset. Me and him haven’t had any blowups or arguments, going in back and forth.”

After Orlando’s win at Miami, I asked #Magic forward Paolo Banchero about his relationship with Jamahl Mosley:

“Whatever those reports are, I wouldn’t say those are true, in my opinion,” Banchero said.

He added: “Those reports, I don’t know where that’s coming from.”

More: pic.twitter.com/izOXBmj29T

— Jason Beede (@therealBeede) January 29, 2026

So, no screaming matches. If there have been, Banchero not wanting to make them public knowledge means the flames have been doused, but there’s no question smoke here materialized out of nowhere. The NBA is a giant sewing circle, and someone heard somewhere that frustration was on the verge of boiling over.

It’s always easier to clear the air after a win, and the Magic got to do that because the team has clearly not tuned out Mosley to the point of needing a new voice. Anthony Black complemented Banchero’s team-high 31 points and 12 rebounds with 26 points and four steals, while Desmond Bane added 23 points. Starters Jalen Suggs and Wendell Carter Jr. also scored in double-figures and made contributions at both ends, and much-criticized guard Tyus Jones distributed a team-high nine assists off the bench. 

Orlando won with a team effort on a night when an implosion could’ve brought about significant drama. Suggs sealed the win with a game-clinching block of a Norman Powell layup that could’ve cut Miami’s deficit to five with 31 seconds left, and the Magic defense was the catalyst to turning things around in the third and helping put things away in the fourth thanks to a 14-0 run. 

The Magic fed Banchero, shared it well, shot 16-for-38 from 3-point range and did all the things they had been struggling with for the past 10 days extremely well. 

This version of P5. Banchero playing quicker hooping through magic flow better and better. He’s dominating as the team wins. superstar in making. Tonight watching I realized this team has to do nothing. Just get healthy and progress. Timing could reward this team for staying…

— Austin Rivers (@AustinRivers25) January 29, 2026

Austin Rivers, a close observer of the Magic given that he grew up in Winter Park and now has a national platform as a commentator, said he’d seen enough in no major changes appearing necessary.

We’ll see if John Hammond feels the same way, since the Magic have a tough home date with Toronto on Friday before hitting the road for games in which they’ll be an underdog in San Antonio and Oklahoma City.

Orlando isn’t out of the woods just yet. It will still finish with a losing January and has three tough games ahead before the schedule load lightens, but it avoided a major inferno breaking out in Miami. The Magic don’t look like a team that has quit on Mosley. How they look against the Raptors, Spurs and Thunder over the next week will likely determine whether they get to the All-Star break without major changes.