SAN ANTONIO — After multiple delays caused by travel issues stemming from the massive winter storm hitting the U.S., the Magic and the Spurs finally took to the court inside Frost Bank Center on Sunday night.
Despite having to fly from North Carolina on the day of the game and having tip-off pushed back five hours from its originally scheduled time over the course of the past day, San Antonio wasn’t deterred by the off-court issues against Orlando while playing on the second day of a back-to-back.
In a contest that was tied six times and included six lead changes, Jamahl Mosley’s squad found itself trailing by double digits the majority of the night as the Spurs, behind Victor Wembanyama’s 25 points, pulled away in the second half to capture a 112-103 victory in front of a spirited home crowd.
“They were the more physical team, the more aggressive team to start the game,” Mosley said about the Spurs. “They played desperate, with a sense of urgency to start the game out.”
Desmond Bane scored 25 points, Paolo Banchero added 19 and Orlando received 41 bench points, but the team was outscored 89-63 across the first, third and fourth quarters.
Although Orlando scored 23 points off 17 takeaways, San Antonio (33-16) notched 17 points off 15 Magic turnovers and had six players finish in double figures.
The Magic (25-23) make their lone trip of the regular season to Oklahoma City for Tuesday’s game.
Slow start
Although the Spurs were the ones who flew into San Antonio just hours before tip-off, it was Orlando that lacked energy and precision to open the contest.
The Magic trailed by as many as 18 points in the opening 12 minutes when the Spurs led 37-21.
“We kind of tried to get ourselves walking into the game and that’s not the way you can play against a team like this,” Mosley said. “Their record is what it is for a reason.”
San Antonio not only scored more points in the paint (22) than the Magic scored total (21) in the first quarter, the Spurs also shot 7 for 10 at the free throw line while Orlando shot no free throws in that stretch.
Second-quarter swing
The Magic punched right back when they opened the second quarter on a 17-3 run.
Orlando was far more efficient in the second frame when it shot 15 of 25 (60%) from the floor and held San Antonio to below 43% from the floor (9 for 21).
The Magic, who took the second quarter 40-23, outscored San Antonio 16-6 in the paint and 13-4 in second-chance opportunities to take a 61-60 lead into the half.
Free points
The Magic not only had zero free throws in the opening quarter but they also hardly got to the free throw line most of the night.
After entering the game averaging a league-high 27.4 free throws per night, Orlando finished 13 for 15 at the line.
On the other end, San Antonio shot 22 for 32 at the charity stripe. Wembanyama shot 11 for 15.
“It’s hard to come back from a 24-6 free deficit early,” Mosley said. “It’s hard to come back from but we can’t allow that to dictate how we continue to play.”
Rookie watch
Second-round pick Noah Penda started the second quarter and was a part of Orlando’s spark that frame.
The French forward racked up seven points, two rebounds and two assists in 13 minutes.
First-round pick Jase Richardson didn’t get into the game until the final verdict had been determined with less than three minutes to play.
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com