'It Was For Moe': Magic Pull Together, Rally for Win Despite Wagner's Loss

The Orlando Magic's mounting injury report grew larger when center Moe Wagner was lost to a potentially serious left knee injury on Saturday night. Recounting the win through his eyes, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said "nobody separated," and the Magic "stuck together and got the win."

Orlando Magic center Goga Bitadze (35) celebrates with head coach Jamahl Mosley after a play against the Miami Heat in the third quarter at Kia Center. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jamahl Mosley had just finished coaching his Orlando Magic team to a win unlike any he'd ever seen before.

But sitting at the interview dais, the fourth-year coach was somber. Moe Wagner, his team's lead bench scorer, left the contest in the first quarter with a left knee injury and didn't return. Even in a win, which was made more improbable by Wagner's sudden absence, the cloud of a loss hung over.

"Before you start asking me questions, Moe (Moritz Wagner), you know, did what he did to his left knee, so he'll be re-evaluated tomorrow (Sunday)," Mosley said. "So I'm going to ask that we don't ask any more questions about that, because that is a little touchy subject right now for us, for him, and I want to be able to control my emotions because of how much we care about these young men and what they're going through. So, we can do another discussion about it another day, please."

With just over 2:30 remaining in the first quarter, he'd jump-stopped on the edge of the lane looking to score his first bucket. But instead of elevating for a shot attempt, Wagner collapsed to the ground after his knee gave out in a non-contact incident.

Grabbing his left knee, he made a couple of attempts to get up but soon realized he couldn't. He shook his head toward the Magic bench. prompting Orlando to call timeout. One by one, his teammates, coaches and Orlando's medical staff began to huddle over him.

His brother Franz, also currently sidelined with a torn oblique, had his face painted with a look of disbelief. Still seated on the Magic bench, Anthony Black had a towel covering his head and mouth. But his worrisome eyes looked on as the scene continued unfolding. A stunned silence fell over the Kia Center crowd.

Moe was helped up off the floor by a cast of several supporters. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope laid a towel over the 6-10 center's head, and Wagner wrapped an arm over the shoulders of Jonathan Isaac and Jalen Suggs as he was assisted to the locker room. There was a deliberate effort to not put any weight on his problematic left leg.

The Magic ruled Moe out during halftime and team officials said he'd undergo further evaluation. Neither Moe or Franz was seen again Saturday night.

While they were absent, Orlando overcame the mounting injuries to notch an all-time comeback victory over the Miami Heat, The Magic certainly recognized the effort for all it was worth, but everyone who spoke made it clear: That win was for Moe.

"We all felt when Moe went down – we all felt that," Caldwell-Pope said, who had 24 points in the win. "For us, you know, we always preach next man up mentality. Everybody off the bench that contributed tonight played well. I think the opportunity that we had tonight, everybody pulled together. Nobody separated. We just stuck together and got the win."

"It was for Moe. We're all praying for Moe," Goga Bitadze said after an 18-point, 13-rebound performance in the victory. "He had a crazy season. You look at his numbers, what he did, what he has done... Sixth Man (of the Year), definitely. We were all praying for him. This was for Moe. It's really bad to see another one of our guys, brother, go down."

Aside from a lone turnover, Wagner hadn't yet recorded a stat in his 1:34 of playing time Saturday. Entering the contest, however, he was averaging 13.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists on 56.2 percent shooting from the field and 36.0 percent from three.

Orlando Magic forward Moritz Wagner (21) dribbles the ball against New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) in the fourth quarter at Kia Center. / Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images

He came into Saturday's slate of games second in total points among all reserves, his 372 points only trailing Payton Pritchard's 442. Even still, Pritchard's points had come in 240 more total minutes than Wagner's (775.8 opposed to 535.0, respectively.) Seeing the floor for 19.4 minutes a night, Wagner led the NBA in scoring for players averaging under 20 minutes a game.

Of reserves with at least 15 games played this season, Wagner's 25.0 points/36 minutes was also second, trailing only De'Andre Hunter's 25.4 points/36 minutes.

He's one of just two Magic players to appear in every single game so far this season – Anthony Black being the other. But a potentially serious injury threatens that status severely.

"Put some prayers out there for Moe Wagner," Cole Anthony said postgame after pouring in a season-high 35 points in the win. "You're not going to meet a dude that works as hard as him, is as committed to the game as him; also just truly, truly loves the game and, at the same time, is just a great human being. To see what happened to him tonight – obviously, we're going to keep him in our prayers – but I know that, as a team, we wanted to go get this win for him.

"That's a dude who, shoot, I think was going to be the Sixth Man of the Year. Hopefully he comes back and can pick that up, but just whatever it is, we've got his back. Just prayers up for (him), big shoutout to him, man. We got him."

Describing the postgame locker room, Mosley called the environment a mix of celebration and relief.

"Then," he said, "there was a moment that we talked about making sure that we're lifting our brother up in Moe Wagner, that was a big portion of it."

That's the makeup of a tight-knit team capable of anything. Even a little history.

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