Entering the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s road game against the Jazz inside Delta Center, the Magic trailed by two points.
Orlando had just been outscored 28-19 in the third quarter and had four members of its starting lineup with three or more fouls.
Playing on the second night of a back-to-back on the road with only 10 players available, the Magic could have easily folded and let a hungry Utah team snap its nine-game losing streak.
But that’s not what happened. Instead, the Magic outscored the Jazz 38-21 across the final 12 minutes of the game thanks largely to Franz Wagner (12 points) and Desmond Bane (11), who outscored Utah by themselves with a combined 23 fourth-quarter points.
“I thought we had good poise and resilience,” Bane said of Orlando’s fourth-quarter performance that capped off a 123-108 win. “Coming into the fourth, we were either down one or (it was a) close game — we didn’t have the third quarter that we wanted — but (in the) fourth quarter, we stayed with and were able to execute. … It was a great fourth quarter.”
Resiliency is also what helped Orlando go 2-2 on its four-game West Coast road trip without Paolo Banchero (right high ankle sprain), Jalen Suggs (right knee bone bruise) and Noah Penda (partially torn right hamstring) for its entirety.
Tristan da Silva (left calf strain) also missed the last two games of the trip while Bane (illness at Golden State) and Jamal Cain (left shoulder contusion) each missed one of the four contests.
And yet, despite missing multiple starters as well as multiple reserves, including Jonathan Isaac (left knee injury management) and rookie Izaiyah Nelson (left ankle injury recovery), Orlando won consecutive games for the first time under new coach Sean Sweeney and earned its fourth win of the season.
“Our process has been a lot better these last couple of games,” Wagner said Wednesday night. “We’ll keep improving on that and keep having the same energy. I thought we had a good vibe these last couple days as a group and everybody’s been into the game. So, I think we need that at home as well.”
As the Magic return to Kia Center, where they still haven’t won in four tries, they’ll need to continue to lean on Wagner, who’s been one of the top players in the fourth quarter so far this season.
They could also get some help back. Orlando on Thursday upgraded Suggs to questionable on the team’s initial injury report for Friday’s game after he missed the past eight contests due to a right knee bone bruise he sustained Oct. 25 at New York.
The team told the Orlando Sentinel on Monday that Suggs had been “progressing positively” and his return would depend on how he responded to increased court activities.
The Magic also listed both da Silva and Cain as questionable for the Cup contest against Milwaukee.
Among the 135 NBA players who had appeared in at least 10 regular-season games ahead of Thursday’s slate, Wagner was fourth in scoring in the fourth quarter (7.8 points per night), according to NBA.com. His 2.4 assists in the fourth quarter per night also were the second-most among that group of players.
Sweeney pointed to Wagner’s demeanor as to why the German forward performs so well in the fourth quarter.
“He’s a strong-minded person and he wants those situations that are tough,” the Magic coach said. “He’s done a great job throughout the course of the season thus far and (Wednesday night) was no different.”
Wagner tried to explain why he’s able to step up for his team down the stretch of games.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I just try to play my game, try to be aggressive, make the right play for the team. Sometimes the last couple of minutes, the pace is a little different. So, (I’m) just making sure we’re all organized.”
Overall organization was another key piece to why the Magic were able to remain afloat out west.
After committing a season-high 25 turnovers last Thursday at Phoenix, Orlando was able to take better care of the ball by committing just 14 at Golden State last Saturday as well as at Sacramento on Tuesday. The Jazz could only force 13 turnovers on Wednesday.
Orlando also did a better job at taking advantage of its extra scoring opportunities on the four-game road trip. In the last four contests, the team averaged a league-leading 22.8 second-chance points per night, according to NBA.com.
The Magic’s next opponent, Milwaukee, owns the worst record in the East and has dropped eight games in a row by an average of 19.1 points per night.
The Bucks (1-11) have only beaten the Pacers (4-8) to start the season under new head coach Taylor Jenkins as they begin a new era in its franchise history without nine-time All-NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Regardless of the quality of opponent, the Magic (4-7) will take any win they can get after an injury-riddled start to the season. Orlando believes it’s on the right track as it aims to record its first home regular-season win under Sweeney.
“I think we’re definitely improving,” Bane said. “That’s been the big thing that Sweeney’s talked about really since he’s gotten here, just our process and improving. I think that we’re doing that, but now we’ve got to go take care of home.”
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com
Up next
What: Magic vs. Bucks, NBA Cup
When: 7 p.m., Friday, Kia Center
TV: MagicTV 27, DAZN (streaming)