Magic handle Heat in preseason at new-look Kia Center

Jason Beede, Orlando Sentinel on Oct 12, 2025

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ORLANDO, Fla. — Because they’ll face each other on opening night a week from Wednesday, neither the Orlando Magic nor the Miami Heat revealed much of their plans during Sunday’s preseason game at Kia Center.

For Orlando, forwards Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane had the night off for rest after playing well into the third quarter of Friday’s exhibition victory at Philadelphia while guard Jalen Suggs (left knee trochlea cartilage tear) and big man Moe Wagner (left knee torn ACL surgery) remained out.

Meanwhile, Miami was without Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins and Norman Powell as well as Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier and Nikola Jovic on the first night of a back-to-back.

Nevertheless, the Magic handled their business on their homecourt with a 120-104 victory as they were led by forward Franz Wagner, who racked up 17 points in 16 minutes of first-half action.

The Sunshine State foes fouled each other plenty throughout the night as the Magic shot 33 of 38 at the free throw line and Miami went 25 of 34.

Orlando will wrap up the preseason Thursday when it hosts the Pelicans. The Heat have a quick turnaround when they travel to Atlanta on Monday before closing out their preseason Friday at home vs. the Memphis Grizzlies.

Starting 5

Without Banchero, Bane and Suggs against Miami, the Magic opened with Tyus Jones, Tristan da Silva, Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr. and Jonathan Isaac.

Orlando pushed the pace early but failed to take care of the ball with six turnovers for 11 Miami points in the first quarter alone.

Carter provided a boost on offense when he hit his first pair of triples and posted 10 points in the opening frame. The 6-foot-10 center ended with 12 points and four rebounds in 14 minutes.

Wagner had success attacking the basket regularly before the break and took advantage of his trips to the free throw line, where he sank all 10 of his attempts.

Da Silva helped crash the glass as the second-year pro grabbed seven rebounds to go with 11 points in 16 minutes.

Second unit

The first five off the bench were Jett Howard, Noah Penda, Anthony Black, Goga Bitadze and Jase Richardson.

The first reserve in the game, Howard hit his first 3-pointer from the left wing and later converted an and-one when he was fouled on a transition layup. Howard, who ended with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists in 19 minutes, picked up his fourth foul early in the third frame but added a second triple in the fourth.

Black initiated the offense at times for the second unit and totaled nine points, four assists and two rebounds in 19 minutes. His exclamation point came late in the third with a two-handed dunk.

Orlando’s bench outscored Miami’s 72-51.

Rookie watch

Penda entered much earlier in the game compared to Orlando’s first two preseason contests when he stepped onto court with about 5 minutes left in the first quarter.

The French forward slammed home a cut to the basket early in the third quarter and finished with seven points and five rebounds in 23 minutes.

Richardson missed his first two shots from the floor during a relatively quiet opening half but didn’t waste time to make his mark on the game in the third quarter. The No. 25 pick hit back-to-back triples within the first minute of the second half before recording a steal as well.

The Michigan State product ended with 13 points in 20 minutes.

Fresh flair

Fans attending Sunday’s game likely noticed Kia Center’s new jumbotron along with upgraded screens throughout the bowl and concourse.

Owned and operated by the city of Orlando, the arena now features a center-hung display that has more than 53 million pixels of resolution (the old board had 9 million, according to the team).

Complementing the jumbotron were four corner board LED displays and a new sound system.

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