After suffering the largest loss in franchise history Sunday at Toronto (a 52-point drubbing), Magic coach Jamahl Mosley wanted his team to throw the first punch Tuesday night against the Suns at Kia Center.
Orlando, which lost to Phoenix in double-overtime in late-February, did just that by jumping out to a 16-point lead in the first quarter, but saw another double-digit lead disappear throughout the night.
The Magic, however, remained resilient and were able to hold off the Suns late, 115-111, when Tristan da Silva sank a pair of free throws to put the game out of reach with 1.1 seconds left on the clock.
It was a balanced scoring effort for the Magic, who saw Desmond Bane (21), Jalen Suggs (20), Paolo Banchero (19), and Wendell Carter Jr. (15) combine for 75 points in the four-point win.
“It wasn’t always pretty what we did but our guys’ ability to bounce back and respond the right way — that’s what we asked for and that’s the competitive spirit that these guys showed tonight,” Mosley said.
Playing on the second night of a back-to-back after winning at Memphis on Monday night, the Suns (42-34) were led by two-time All-NBA guard Devin Booker, who scored a game-high 34 points.
Neither side took care of the ball. Orlando scored 26 points off 20 Phoenix turnovers and the Suns scored 18 points off 25 takeaways.
The Magic (40-35) have a quick turnaround when they return to Kia Center on Wednesday night to host the Hawks.
Starters carry weight
Suggs got going early with a nine-point first quarter and had 13 by the half with four rebounds and four assists. He picked up his fourth foul roughly halfway through the fourth but neared a triple-double with eight rebounds and seven assists.
Banchero nearly notched a double-double in the first half with nine points and six assists alongside four rebounds. He continued to do a little bit of everything when he ended with nine boards and eight assists.
Bane overcame a slow start by making six of his first seven attempts at the free-throw line to reach 10 points after two quarters. His layup with 6.7 seconds left in the game extended Orlando’s lead to five points late.
Although Carter picked up two first-quarter fouls and added a third late in the second quarter, he was impactful when he was on the floor. The Magic center notched 11 points and five rebounds in nine first-half minutes, but earned his fourth foul less than two minutes into the third quarter.
Da Silva picked up three fouls in his first seven minutes of action and didn’t return to the floor until the start of the third quarter. He then earned two more fouls in the first nine minutes of the third quarter, but came up huge at the foul line late.
Orlando’s starters scored 84 of the team’s 115 total points when they played heavy minutes.
Third-quarter swing
The Magic led 70-56 at the break but quickly called timeout after the Suns open the third quarter with an 11-2 run.
Orlando was able to stay ahead by 6-7 points much of the quarter but Phoenix continued to shoot the ball well when it made six 3-pointers in the third (matching its first-half total). The Suns then tied the game at 94-94 after Jordan Goodwin beat the buzzer with a corner triple to end the period.
Ultimately, the Magic were outscored 38-24 in the third. Phoenix then took its first lead of the night roughly 30 seconds into the fourth.
“We’ve got to respond better coming out of the third but our ability to stay with it the entire time regardless of the calls, good or bad, it doesn’t matter, we (had) to focus on what we were doing,” Mosley said.
Let’s get technical
Dillon Brooks, who made his return after missing the past 18 games because of a broken left hand suffered against Orlando on Feb. 21, picked up his second foul less than two minutes into the game and was handed a technical foul after complaining about it.
As that technical foul was assessed, techs were given to Bane and Booker, who got into each other’s face after the play.
Four minutes into the second quarter, Banchero was assessed a technical foul for pushing away Brooks before the start of an inbounds play.
Franz Wagner, who has missed 22 games in a row and 47 of the past 51 contests because of an ankle injury, also picked up a technical foul at the 7:03 mark of the second quarter from the bench.
Bane up for award
Bane was one of 12 finalists announced Tuesday by the league for the 2025-26 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award.
The annual award recognizes the player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.
“I try to pride myself on being a good person, a good teammate, so it’s pretty cool,” Bane said about the honor.
The Magic guard is joined by Jalen Brunson (Knicks), Pat Connaughton (Hornets), De’Aaron Fox (Spurs), Jeff Green (Rockets), Jrue Holiday (Trail Blazers), DeAndre Jordan (Pelicans), Duncan Robinson (Pistons), Marcus Smart (Lakers), Jayson Tatum (Celtics), Garrett Temple (Raptors) and Jaylin Williams (Thunder) as a finalist for the award. Current NBA players will select the winner at the end of the season.
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com