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Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner lead Magic to 125-94 romp over Wizards

Jason Beede, Orlando Sentinel on

Published in Basketball

WASHINGTON — For a team like the Orlando Magic, who haven’t opened the regular season as they would have liked, a game against the Wizards presents an opportunity.

Washington has 10 players on the roster age 22 or under, so the Magic hoped they had a chance to find their footing on offense, impose their will on defense and showcase the new style of play they are implementing.

Orlando did all of that and more as coach Jamahl Mosley’s squad won its second game in a row, 125-94, on Saturday night at Capital One Arena, outscoring Washington 71-40 across the second and third quarters.

Paolo Banchero (28 points), Franz Wagner (25) and Wendell Carter Jr. (16) combined for 69 points.

Kyshawn George led the Wizards (1-5) with 17 points.

The win is Orlando’s 11th in a row against Washington, dating back to March 21, 2023.

The Magic (3-4) wrap up their season-long five-game, nine-day road trip Tuesday at Atlanta.

Second-quarter surge

Wagner powered an early second-quarter run by penetrating the paint and Banchero later joined in on the scoring spree with back-to-back triples. They also hit three free throws apiece in the quarter.

Banchero (15 points) and Wagner (11) combined to score 26 of Orlando’s 43 second-quarter points. That total tied the franchise record for most points ever scored in a second quarter.

Orlando led 75-56 at the break. It held Washington to 1-for-5 shooting from 3 in the second frame. The first half also marked just the second time in Wagner and Banchero’s careers in which they both scored 20-plus points in the same half.

Help from the bench

 

Although Banchero and Wagner did much of the heavy lifting on offense in the first half, veteran guard Tyus Jones scored six points before the break.

Goga Bitadze was the lone member of the Magic bench to reach double figures, notching 15 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes.

Jonathan Isaac continued to be in Orlando’s rotation, playing 16 minutes, scoring eight points and pulling down six rebounds while making his presence felt on both ends.

Free points

The Magic took advantage of their trips to the free-throw line, shooting 14 for 14 in the first half.

Orlando ended 19 for 22 from the charity stripe (86.4%), marking their best free-throw percentage of the season.

The Magic had struggled at the stripe throughout the start of the road trip, missing 12 free throws at Philadelphia, 12 at Detroit and six at Charlotte.

Rookie watch

Second-round pick Noah Penda, who had played in the first quarter of the last three games, didn’t step onto the court until the 6:46 mark of the fourth.

The French forward was joined by first-round pick Jase Richardson a minute later when the pair of rookies played the second half of the final frame.

Penda hit a 3-pointer late and added three assists, two rebounds, a steal and a block in late action. Richardson grabbed one rebound and missed his lone shot.


©2025 Orlando Sentinel. Visit at orlandosentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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