Magic Bench Battles, But Suns Pull Out Win on New Year's Eve

The Phoenix Suns were just too much for the Orlando Magic in the final game of the 2023 calendar year.

Jeremy Brener | Dec 31, 2023

Magic Bench Battles, But Suns Pull Out Win on New Year's Eve /

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ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic is going into the new year on the wrong foot, falling 112-107 to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday evening at the Footprint Center.

The Magic played catch-up for most of the night against the Suns, who built a lead as large as 16 in the first half. However, the Magic battled back and never went away until the waning minutes of the game.

Orlando made its big run in the third quarter, trailing by 15 with 7:23 to go but cut that deficit to just two points by the end of the frame. The Magic even took a lead with 9:26 to go in the fourth quarter, but that was all Orlando could muster.

Cole Anthony Moe Wagner Josh Okogie Suns — Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

With the Magic trailing by a point, Orlando went scoreless for nearly five minutes in the fourth quarter, ending any hope of a comeback.

The driving force behind the comeback was the bench, which outscored Phoenix 40-6. Out of those 40 points, 17 came from Wendell Carter Jr., who returned to the court after missing Friday's game with knee tendinitis. Cole Anthony also added 13 points of his own.

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But of course, the Magic was led by its dynamic duo in the frontcourt. Paolo Banchero scored a team-high 28 while Franz Wagner was right behind him with 27.

For the Suns, Kevin Durant was simply too much, scoring a game-high 31. Bradley Beal had his best game in his Phoenix tenure with 25, while Devin Booker posted 21 of his own.

The Magic starts its 2024 calendar on Tuesday when the team visits Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. Tipoff is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET from the Chase Center.

Published Dec 31, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.