ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) – The Orlando Magic had a lot of ground to make up for at home after their long road run, and the Washington Wizards didn’t make it easy on them–their defense greatly frustrated the Magic.

First Half

The Wizards led most of the first quarter, especially since the Magic made none of their three-pointers…until Moritz Wagner came in off the bench with just over two minutes left in the first. With a couple of shots, he switched the lead to Orlando by a single point at the end of the first quarter, 26-25.

Cole Anthony got a nice and-1 after his rebound from a failed Wizard free throw. Bradley Beal fouled him as he ran into the paint, but Anthony’s fadeaway shot was successful as he fell to the floor.

In the second quarter the Wizards regained the lead, but like in the first quarter, the Magic rallied near the end of the quarter. When Gary Harris, Markelle Fultz and the other Wagner, Franz, got back on the court, the Magic began sinking more shots.

Mo Wagner contributed 11 points in the first two quarters, while Franz, Harris and Anthony each followed with 10 points. The Magic also made up for their three-pointer deficit in second quarter. They were seven of 17 (41.2 percent) on threes in the first half compared to the Wizards’ five of 15 (33.3 percent) and were 23 of 43 on field goals (53.5 percent) compared to the Wizards’ 21 of 40 (52.5 percent).

For Washington, Deni Avdija and Monte Morris led the scoring with 12 points each; Kristaps Porzingis followed with 11 points.

The Magic secured a four-point lead heading into halftime, 60-56.

Second Half

The Magic ended third quarter one point behind, 88-87.

The Magic brought the fire in the fourth quarter, getting on a run between Markelle Fultz, Wendell Carter Jr. and Paolo Banchero, who went to the free throw line three times late in the fourth and nailed every free throw. The highlight play of the second half happened within the final minute of the game: Banchero had pressure on him and made an ugly fadeaway baseline three-pointer…and sank it in.

The most critical hit of all was Bradley Beal fouling out of the game, which dealt a huge blow to the Wizards’ offense in the final stretch. Porzingis tried to pick up the slack, but the Magic saw the blood in the water and piled on the pressure, closing out the game with a 10-point win, 122-112.

For the night, Gary Harris led in scoring for the Magic with 22 points, going six for nine on three pointers and seven for 10 on field goals. Franz Wagner followed with 20 points with four rebounds and six assists. Banchero contributed 18 points and was six of six on free throws. Fultz contributed 17 points with five rebounds and five assists.

For the Wizards, Porzingis led the scoring by far, with 30 total points, six rebounds and three assists. Beal followed with 16 points, five rebounds and seven assists.

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Mellissa Thomas is Editor for Florida National News. | mellissa.thomas@floridanationalnews.com

ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac underwent surgery on Friday morning to repair a torn left adductor muscle and will miss the remainder of the 2022-23 regular season. An MRI conducted Wednesday revealed the injury, after he felt discomfort following Tuesday’s practice in Milwaukee.

“Our thoughts are with Jonathan, whose fortitude in dealing with adversity is unique,” said Orlando Magic President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman. “Jonathan has worked extremely hard to return to the court this season and has demonstrated his impact on our team. We will be by his side as he focuses on the work ahead.”

Isaac (6’10”, 230, 10/3/97) played in 11 games this season, averaging 5.0 ppg., 4.0 rpg. and 1.27 stlpg. in 11.3 minpg.

Originally selected in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2017 NBA Draft by Orlando, Isaac has appeared in 147 career NBA regular season games (106 starts), all with the Magic, averaging 9.0 ppg., 5.3 rpg., 1.0 apg., 1.43 blkpg. and 1.08 stlpg. in 24.7 minpg. He has also played and started in five career playoff outings, averaging 6.6 ppg., 6.2 rpg. and 1.00 blkpg. in 27.3 minpg.

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) – The Orlando Magic showed promise against the Indiana Pacers in their post-All-Star break rematch at home, but plummeted in the second half, starting in the third quarter.

Overall, Myles Turner scored 24 points for the Pacers, Bennedict Mathurin followed with 19 points and Jordan Nwora netted 18. Tyrese Haliburton had 15 points and a solid 14 assists. Jalen Smith contributed seven rebounds and five blocks.

Both teams shot below 40 percent in the first half, but in the third quarter Andrew Nembhard, Buddy Hield and Haliburton nailed 3-pointers in a 17-2 run to give Indiana a 68-54 lead. Indiana shot 59 percent in the second half.

”That was one of the better games we’ve played in a while, on the road,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. ”We’ve played some good home games, but it’s been a while since we’ve won on the road.”

For Orlando, Franz Wagner led with 21 points, while Paolo Banchero followed with 19 points and Markelle Fultz with 18. The Magic’s shots weren’t landing; they went 6 for 29 from 3-point range and finished the game at 38.9 percent.

”I think something happened that we can’t let happen,” Wagner said during the postgame press conference. ”After a couple of shots being missed or us not getting what we wanted, we let it affect how we played on the other end. That’s when they made that run.”

Additionally, while Wendell Carter Jr. got a game high 11 rebounds in 18 minutes early in the game, he got into foul trouble, getting four overall (the first three in the first quarter, after which he was benched, then the fourth in third quarter) and struggled to shoot, making only one of his 11 field goals, no 3-pointers, and scoring three of his six free throws.

On the plus side, Carter’s absence from the court brought the introduction of Goga Bitadze, who scored six points and had four rebounds against his old team in his first few minutes with the Orlando Magic during the first quarter.

Postgame Press Conference

Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley, Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero talk with the press after their loss to the Pacers.

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Mellissa Thomas is Editor for Florida National News. | mellissa.thomas@floridanationalnews.com