Orlando Magic at Washington Wizards
· National Basketball AssociationMagic rally from 21 down to win 119-109 as Wizards tie franchise record with 16th straight loss
Washington (9-53) tied a team record for longest losing streak, matching a skid from the 2009-10 season. The Wizards looked on their way to ending this slide, but were done in by a 44-point second half against one of the league's best defensive teams.
“It is a tied-together group that loves to defend, loves to cover for each other, play the right way, play for one another," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. "We talked about that. That was the conversation at halftime.”
Orlando (37-26) has won eight of nine.
Jordan Poole scored 26 points for Washington, which hasn't won since a victory at San Antonio on Jan. 29. Kyle Kuzma added 25 points for the Wizards, who haven't won at home since Dec. 29 against Brooklyn.
Washington led by 11 after the first quarter and a 3-pointer by Johnny Davis made it 52-31 in the second. It was 65-53 at halftime before the Wizards were held to 18 points in the third quarter.
“When you play defense, you have a chance to win games. They weren’t winning games for a couple years, and they just started playing defense, they started winning games," Kuzma said. "How do you do that? You've got to want to play defense and want to play team defense. That’s what we have to learn and that’s what we have to get to if we want to not be this type of ballclub.”
A layup by Banchero tied it at 72, and then neither team led by more than three for over 14 minutes, before a dunk by Moritz Wagner — Franz's brother — made it 102-97.
Moritz Wagner added a three-point play to cap a 14-1 run, and the Magic led 107-97. He scored 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter.
It was the largest comeback of the season for the Magic, who last rallied from a 21-point deficit on Jan. 30, 2023, at Philadelphia. The last time Orlando had a bigger comeback was Nov. 21, 2014, at Charlotte, when the team overcame a 23-point deficit to win.
“Wasn’t really much to talk about scheme-wise,” Banchero said. “There was no reason to talk about any scheme at halftime. It was just our effort and how hard we wanted to play.”
Banchero had 10 assists.
“Paolo’s an All-Star, Franz is on his way to being an All-Star," Mosley said. "The way in which they play off each other, and then it becomes selfless, and it carries over to the rest of the group.”
UP NEXT
Magic: At New York on Friday night.
Wizards: Host Charlotte on Friday night.
Regular Season Series
ORL wins series 4-0
Matchup Prediction
Recent Plays
4th 0.0 | End of Game | 119 - 109 | |
4th 0.0 | End of the 4th Quarter | 119 - 109 | |
4th 23.0 | Kyle Kuzma makes 8-foot driving floating jump shot | 119 - 109 | |
4th 30.1 | Franz Wagner makes 9-foot driving floating jump shot | 119 - 107 | |
4th 48.2 | Deni Avdija makes 1-foot two point shot (Jordan Poole assists) | 117 - 107 |
Statistics
ORL | WSH | |
---|---|---|
44-81 | FG | 40-88 |
54.3 | Field Goal % | 45.5 |
12-26 | 3PT | 12-38 |
46.2 | Three Point % | 31.6 |
19-21 | FT | 17-20 |
90.5 | Free Throw % | 85.0 |
42 | Rebounds | 35 |
9 | Offensive Rebounds | 9 |
33 | Defensive Rebounds | 26 |
21 | Assists | 26 |
4 | Steals | 7 |
5 | Blocks | 4 |
15 | Turnovers | 9 |
0 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
15 | Total Turnovers | 9 |
0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
16 | Points Off Turnovers | 10 |
12 | Fast Break Points | 18 |
56 | Points in Paint | 50 |
14 | Fouls | 20 |
13 | Largest Lead | 21 |
Game Information
Location: Washington, DC
Attendance: 16,018 · Capacity:
2023-24 Southeast Standings
TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Orlando | 47 | 35 | .573 | - | W1 |
Miami | 46 | 36 | .561 | 1 | W2 |
Atlanta | 36 | 46 | .439 | 11 | L6 |
Charlotte | 21 | 61 | .256 | 26 | W1 |
Washington | 15 | 67 | .183 | 32 | L6 |
NBA News
Nuggets' Jamal Murray takes 'responsibility' for outburst vs. Wolves
Jamal Murray said he takes "full responsibility" for his Game 2 actions, while coach Michael Malone delivered a stern message to the Nuggets to "act like" world champions.
Patrick Beverley calls actions 'inexcusable'; police open probe
Indianapolis police announced Wednesday they've opened an investigation after Bucks guard Patrick Beverley threw a ball at a fan in the final minutes of a season-ending loss to the Pacers.
Rudy Gobert had 'emotions' watching Timberwolves dominate Nuggets
Rudy Gobert admitted it could have been delirium setting in as he watched his Timberwolves manhandle the Nuggets 106-80 in Game 2 on Monday while he cradled his newborn son hundreds of miles away from the Mile High City.