Losers of three in a row entering Saturday’s contest at Kia Center, the Magic aimed to get back on track against the Grizzlies after falling short to the Clippers less than 24 hours earlier.
Doing so on the second night of a back-to-back without guard Gary Harris and forward Jonathan Isaac, who weren’t available due to respective injury maintenance, could have been no easy task.
But Orlando (43-31) set its sight on a team-wide goal to respond and it did just that and more in its 118-88 home victory over Memphis, which trailed by as many as 43 points.
It was the type of performance the Magic should have put together against a team that picked up its 50th loss of the season Saturday, but Orlando had already lost to Memphis (24-50) earlier in the season (Jan. 26) and entered 4-9 playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
Still, coach Jamahl Mosley’s squad leveraged accurate shooting from the jump to maintain control of the game for the rest of the night in their seventh game of a season-high eight-game homestand.
The win marked Orlando’s 43rd of the season, the most by the franchise since winning 52 in 2010-11.
Off Sunday, the Magic remain at Kia Center when they host the Trail Blazers (19-55) on Monday (Bally Sports Florida, 7).
Strong start
Paolo Banchero said Friday night he needed to find a way to start games better.
He and the rest of the Magic did just that against the Grizzlies as Banchero (13 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists) helped to power a 33-point first quarter.
After Orlando opened 0 of 5 from beyond the arc, the group went onto make 7 of their next 8 from distance. On the night, the Magic shot 22 of 44 (50%) from 3.
As the ball swung around the perimeter, the Magic shared it throughout the night to rack up 28 assists.
That all led to a 30-4 run from the first quarter into the second when Memphis didn’t score for roughly 4 minutes late in the opening frame.
The Magic held Memphis to 25.6% FG shooting during the first half, a season-best effort by Orlando. The Magic’s previous best mark had been 26.8% on Nov. 15 at Chicago.
Ingles’ impact
Joe Ingles provided an immediate boost off the bench late in the first quarter.
After entering the game at the 5:16 mark of the first frame, the veteran forward buried three triples and sank a pair of free throws to lead the Magic with 11 points at the break (tied with Banchero).
Directing traffic on the court and finding his spots on the floor, Ingles helped spread the floor for Orlando, who had six players make at least two 3-pointers.
Fultz connects
It’s typically not significant to mention a single made 3-pointer that comes early in the second quarter on a Saturday night in March.
That’s not the case for Markelle Fultz.
The Magic point guard entered the contest having made only 1 triple on the season in just 11 attempts but he finished the night with two more makes from 3-point range.
Fultz, who played off ball at times with Cole Anthony (15 points) on the floor, connected from distance first from the right corner two minutes into the second quarter and then again from the right wing with 8 minutes left in the game.
Totaling 12 points with 5 assists and 4 rebounds, it was Fultz’s first game with at least two made 3-pointers in a game since March 31, 2023.
He played 25 minutes, including the entire fourth, after missing Friday’s game due to left knee injury maintenance.
Wendell’s way
After a disappointing 2-point, 5-rebound performance against the Clippers the night prior, Wendell Carter Jr. bounced back with his seventh double-double of the season.
The Magic center connected on 3 of 7 attempts from beyond the arc to finish with 15 points in 28 minutes.
Crashing the boards with success, he added 13 rebounds and helped keep Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. to only 4 points (1 of 9 FG) on the night.
Rookie watch
With the result already determined, guard Anthony Black started the fourth quarter and played the entire frame alongside most of Orlando’s third unit with Fultz.
His lone basket came when he stole a pass en route to a dunk in transition.
Jason Beede can be reached at [email protected]
