Although in the previous offseason, many teams in the league have completed the upgrade of the roster and were once expected to be the favorites to win the championship in the new season. However, as the journey of the regular season continues to deepen, many so-called championship favorites have not played the expected results and are struggling. And some teams that have not been favored have quietly shown the competitiveness of dark horses. For example, the Orlando Magic, who are now 13-5 and ranked second in the East, are one of the typical cases.
As far as the facts are concerned, they played such an amazing performance under the leadership of Banchero and Wagner, which was completely unexpected by everyone. In this game, the Magic, who returned to play at home, ushered in the challenge of the Washington Wizards. It is worth affirming that after sending away the star Beal in the offseason, the overall competitiveness of the Wizards has been greatly reduced, and Kuzma and Poole, who are expected to be the pillars of the top, have not played as expected. And this time to challenge the Orlando Magic, the Wizards were once again deflated, allowing the Magic to win a wave of 9 consecutive victories with a total score of 130-125.
At the beginning of the game, the Wizards, who were playing away, quickly entered the state and took the initiative to lead the score. Kuzma was on fire in the first quarter, shooting 5-of-7 from the field and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line, delivering 12 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block, Poole and Avdija both contributed 4 points, and Jones even made 2-of-2 three-pointers and delivered a crucial 6 points to help the team play a 36-31 score and take a five-point lead. Entering the second quarter of the matchup, the Magic, who was behind in the score, was also able to narrow the gap to 3 points with the help of Wagner's 9 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, and Banchero's 7 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist.
Yibian fought again, and the Magic team, which had achieved good results in chasing points, could further achieve a score overtake. In the third quarter of the competition, Wagner shot 1 of 1, 5 of 6 free throws, delivered 7 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists, and Banchero also had 7 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, playing a score of 34-28 and successfully achieving a 3-point comeback. In the final quarter of the decisive game, Kuzma quickly received two fouls and played early with a total of 6 fouls, and the Magic took advantage of the situation to play a 38-36 score and won the game with a total score of 130-125.
Looking back at the stats of that game, the overall form of the players on the Magic's side is very good. Although only five players on the team scored in double figures, they were very efficient. Wagner played 34In 5 minutes, he shot 9-of-17 from the field and delivered 30 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists. At the same time, Banchero, who was born as a champion, was also able to shoot 11 of 20 and deliver luxurious statistics of 28 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists, playing the responsibility that the champion should have. In addition, Suggs also had 15 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists, Wagner, who came off the bench, also had 18 points and 6 rebounds, and Ingles who handed over 14 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists.
On the other hand, on the side of the Wizards who lost away, all 7 of them scored double-doubles, and the offensive aggression was also very good. Kuzma played 37In 5 minutes, he unfortunately announced the graduation of 6 fouls ahead of schedule and handed out 27 points and 6 rebounds. And Poole was dumb again in this game, 0 of 5 three-pointers, 3 of 12 shots, and only 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. The other players who scored double-doubles in the remaining were not very efficient, only Gafford had 18 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists, and had a double-double data output.