Magic Rout Wizards Behind Second-Half Surge, Stay Unbeaten at Home

The Orlando Magic overpowered the Washington Wizards in the third quarter Sunday night en route to a 121-94 victory. The Magic are 4-0 at the Kia Center.

Orlando Magic center Moritz Wagner (21) goes to the basket against Washington Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas (17) during the second quarter at Kia Center. / Mike Watters-Imagn Images

ORLANDO – The start to the Orlando Magic's season, driven in some facets by their play and in others by circumstance, has been far from perfect.

But after their 121-94 win over the visiting Washington Wizards on Sunday night, the Magic are flawless at the Kia Center with four wins in four games.

The Magic, ahead 61-56 at halftime, outscored the Wizards 60-38 over the final 24 minutes. The two sides traded the lead 11 times in the first half, but Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said his team's poise allowed them to take control coming out of the locker room. Washington never led the rest of the way.

"I was very pleased with our guys' response to not get rattled and just continue to play the right way," Mosley said.

"I think we did a great job of staying the course," guard Cole Anthony said. "Then that second half, and this is just me from the bench kind of seeing ... our energy. We played that second half with so much joy. Everyone was smiling, having a good time. It was unselfish.

"If we play like that," Anthony added, "we're gonna beat a lot of teams."

Orlando forced 10 second-half turnovers (17 total), held the Wizards to 11-of-32 from the field and 2-of-16 from three, and limited Washington to an 80.9 offensive rating, per NBA.com's advanced box score.

"We'll keep saying it: Our defense is going to carry our offense to generate easy baskets," Mosley said. "I think that's gonna be key for us as we continue to go down this road. Get stops to get out and run and do a better job of defending without fouling so we can get out on the break."

Franz Wagner's 23 points led the Magic. Joining him in double figures were his brother Moe Wagner (16), Tristan da Silva (11), Anthony Black (12), Anthony (16), and Goga Bitadze (10).

Jordan Poole led Washington with 24 points. But the Wizards, who came into the evening leading the NBA in fastbreak points, only had seven points on seven chances against the league's third-best Magic defense.

As a collective, the Magic shot a higher volume of threes (48 attempts) and earned a higher number of makes — 17, tied for second-most this season (Oct. 26 at Memphis).

In his fourth consecutive start for Wendell Carter Jr., who remains sidelined with left foot plantar fasciitis, Bitadze logged his 12th career double-double and the second this season. He added 12 rebounds as well as three assists and a block.

"It's not that hard," Bitadze said of the adjustment to being inserted into the starting lineup. "I just put the work in whenever my name is called. ... This is my sixth year doing that. If I have to start, I will start, do what's necessary for the team to get the win. As long as we're winning, everybody is happy."

Up Next

The Magic's homestand continues Tuesday for the first night of a back-to-back. Orlando welcomes the Charlotte Hornets for their first NBA Cup group game at 7 p.m. ET inside the Kia Center.

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