The Orlando Magic’s In-Season Tournament hopes remain alive after coming away with a 126-107 win over the Toronto Raptors to extend their winning streak to four.
The win sees the Magic improve to 9-5 on the year – tied with Miami for the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference.
Paolo Banchero (25 points, five rebounds) led the way for Orlando with Franz Wagner (17 points, three steals), Jalen Suggs (18 points, 6-of-10 shooting), and Cole Anthony (15 points, 10 assists) providing steady support.
Starting centre Wendell Carter Jr. sat out his ninth-straight game after undergoing hand surgery.
In his place, Goga Bitadze stuffed the stat-sheet with five points, seven rebounds, six assists, five blocks and a pair of steals, joining Shaquille O’Neal as the only players in Magic history to hit those marks in a game.
Orlando stamped their authority from the outset earning an early lead which grew to as many as 19 in the second quarter.
Jamahl Mosley’s squad came out of the half and did not look back with their advantage ballooning to as high as 27 in the fourth quarter before the benches were emptied.
Orlando were dominant in the paint and on the boards outscoring Toronto by 32 in the painted area and 22 in second chance points whilst winning the fastbreak battle 23-9.
Toronto hit 14 of their 28 threes and shot a slightly better percentage from the floor but were unable to keep the Magic off the offensive glass and allowed 31 points off 23 turnovers.
Dennis Schröder (24 points, 8-of-13 shooting) led Toronto in scoring whilst Pascal Siakam (16 points, eight assists) and Scottie Barnes (14 points, eight rebounds) also contributed.
Toronto are in Indiana tomorrow in the second night of a back-to-back whilst the Magic host the defending champion Nuggets also tomorrow.
