WASHINGTON – The Orlando Magic finished 13th in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Eastern Conference in 2022, so it was no wonder that they are having fun with their success this campaign.
On Nov 29, German forward Franz Wagner’s 31-point performance sparked the team to an eighth consecutive victory, ripping the Washington Wizards 139-120 to move one game behind NBA overall leaders the Boston Celtics.
The Magic connected on 60.7 per cent of their shots in improving to 13-5 and matching the Milwaukee Bucks for second in the East behind the Celtics (14-4).
“We don’t expect it but we believe we can win every day and we want to play to our standards,” Wagner said after achieving back-to-back 30-point games for the first time in his NBA career.
“It’s a lot of fun. We would like to keep that going.”
Orlando can match the club’s record winning streak by beating the Wizards again on Dec 1.
“It would be awesome,” Wagner added. “But we’ve still got one to go so we’ve got to lock in on that.”
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley agreed, saying: “I’m a ‘one game at a time’ guy. We’ll enjoy this one but we’ve got to get to work tomorrow.”
Cole Anthony came off the bench to add 25 points and Jalen Suggs scored a season-high 22 points but forward Paolo Banchero, last season’s NBA Rookie of the Year, suffered an ankle sprain and had only six points.
The Philadelphia 76ers also could have reached 13-5 but, with NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Joel Embiid out due to illness, the Sixers lost 124-114 at New Orleans.
Embiid, the NBA’s top scorer with 32.0 points a game, was dearly missed as Pelicans star forward Zion Williamson struck for 33 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals – shooting 11 of 12 from the floor.
Pelicans guard C.J. McCollum scored 20 points in his return after missing more than three weeks with a collapsed lung and fractured rib.
Tyrese Maxey scored 33 points for the Sixers in a losing cause.
“We cannot use that as an excuse, and we won’t,” Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said of Embiid’s absence.
“What put us in a big hole is we didn’t go out and execute our defensive schemes the way we wanted to from the start of the game.”
The Phoenix Suns saw a seven-game win streak snapped while NBA-worst Detroit lost their 15th game in a row.
The Toronto Raptors got 23 points from Scottie Barnes and 22 from Pascal Siakam to beat visiting Phoenix 112-105.
In Detroit, D’Angelo Russell had game-highs of 35 points and nine assists to lead the Los Angeles Lakers over Detroit 133-107, dropping the Pistons to 2-16.
Anthony Davis added 28 points and a game-high 16 rebounds for the Lakers while LeBron James had 25 points and eight rebounds.
In Denver, two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic struck for 32 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds while Michael Porter Jr added 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists to power defending champions the Denver Nuggets over the visiting Houston Rockets 134-124. AFP
