The Orlando Magic have been unable to record consecutive victories since stringing three wins together back on Nov. 25 to Dec. 1.
Fresh off an offensive uprising, the Magic will look to do precisely that on Tuesday when they visit the Washington Wizards.
Desmond Bane scored 31 points and Paolo Banchero added 28 to go along with 12 rebounds on Sunday, lifting Orlando to a 135-127 home victory over the reeling Indiana Pacers.
“Much better offensively, but we’ve still got to figure out how to string together some stops on the defensive end,” Bane said. “We got a few when it mattered, but we’re better than that on that end, for sure.”
Anthony Black collected 27 points and 10 assists in his return to the starting lineup for the Magic, who finished with a spirited effort to record their fifth win in nine games.
“We just did a good job of staying poised,” Banchero said. “(The Pacers) kept making shots and we were just able to come down and execute late in the game in the fourth quarter.”
While the offensive numbers were impressive, the performance on the other side of the floor left a bit to be desired as Orlando played without guard Jalen Suggs. The defensive star sustained a Grade 1 MCL contusion in his right knee during Friday’s setback against the Chicago Bulls.
“It’s just going to be collective,” Bane said of the team’s plan as a means to overcome the loss of Suggs. “That’s been our identity and something that we have to lean into. Losing a guy like Jalen, you’ve got to lean into it even more.”
Banchero scored 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor with 11 rebounds in Orlando’s 125-94 rout in Washington on Nov. 1.
Like the Magic, the Wizards were rather generous in their last game. The Minnesota Timberwolves scored at least 33 points per quarter and shot a robust 56.1% from the floor in a 141-115 rout of Washington on Sunday.
Gaudy numbers to be certain, however that came on the heels of the Wizards surrendering just 99 points against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.
“Thankfully over the course of the last 15 games or so, we’ve proven this isn’t who we are, so it feels like more of fluke than a bad trend,” Corey Kispert said of the game versus Minnesota, per the Washington Post.
CJ McCollum finished with 20 points against the Timberwolves, marking the 13th time that he has scored at least that many points in a game this season.
McCollum, who averages a team-best 18.6 points per game, was quick to credit with what he views as the future of the Wizards, players such as Alex Sarr (17.2 ppg), injured Kyshawn George (15.0) and Bilal Coulibaly (9.9).
“They’re handpicking the right guys … they have all these guys with intangibles with skillsets with the ability to grow and evolve and develop,” McCollum said in an appearance with the Club 520 Podcast.
“The sky’s the limit in the next three years. They’re boys, that’s the scary part. Real dogs when they’re 24-25.”
