During the NBA’s Monday night slate, the Orlando Magic beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-109 thanks to Paolo Banchero’s 29 points and 10 rebounds. The Magic ended a seven-game winning streak by the Sixers with 22 points from Mo Wagner and 19 from his younger brother Franz Wagner.
Since their 6-20 start, the Magic have improved to 15-11, including their latest win over one of the NBA’s best teams.
“They are learning from experiences,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “They are finding ways to bounce back and believe in each other and understand that it’s got to start on the defensive side of the ball.”
Among the teams Orlando has beaten are Boston three times, Golden State twice, Dallas, Phoenix, and now Philadelphia.
“We are a very good team,” Banchero said. “We just have to learn how to put this effort out every night. We have to be able to take this game and take it to the next game and the game after that no matter who the opponent is.”
NBA SCORES & NEWS: Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic & Philadelphia 76ers Updates
As a result of his 30 points and 11 rebounds, Joel Embiid scored 30 points for the 27th time this season, and ninth time in the last 10. He also led the Sixers with six turnovers, got into foul trouble in the fourth quarter, and appeared frustrated by Orlando’s physical defense.
In the fourth quarter, the Magic forced 19 turnovers and held Philly to 19 points. Despite being 21 points behind, Orlando has overcome the largest deficit of the season and the sixth-largest deficit of the franchise’s history.
After falling behind early, the Magic slowly clawed their way back to trim the Sixers’ lead to 10 points at halftime. In the third quarter, Orlando took the lead for the first time on a 3-pointer by Gary Harris.
“We just wanted to challenge them and turn the heat up,” Banchero said. “We weren’t doing that in the first half and gave them too many easy buckets. You’re not going to stop Embiid, you just have to challenge him and make it difficult on him and we did a good job.”
With 7:03 remaining, Mo Wagner made a reverse layup, was fouled, and converted the free throw. 19 seconds later, Wagner converted another three-point play after being fouled by Embiid. Embiid’s position on defense was challenged unsuccessfully by Sixers coach Doc Rivers.
NBA SCORES & NEWS: Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic & Philadelphia 76ers Updates
The Sixers got no closer than six points the rest of the way after Cole Anthony’s 3-pointer completed a 9-0 Orlando run.
“I don’t think we played with any pace,” Rivers said. “Their pressure, their physicality … they got into us. We turned the ball over. We were flopping to try to draw fouls. We just turned it off and couldn’t get it back.”
James Harden and Tobias Harris each scored 17 points for the Sixers.
