Magic Win Home Opener as Depth, Defense Wear Down Nets in Second Half

The Orlando Magic defeated the Brooklyn Nets 116-101 in their home opener Friday night. As they did in Miami Wednesday, the Magic broke open a close game in the third quarter.

Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black (0) goes to the basket against Brooklyn Nets forward Jalen Wilson (22) during the second half at Kia Center. / Mike Watters-Imagn Images

ORLANDO – For the first two and a half quarters of the Orlando Magic's home opener versus the Brooklyn Nets, the hosts struggled to assert their will over the visitors.

Brooklyn led by a point, 65-64. To that moment, the Magic had held leads throughout, but never fully seized control of the contest.

Then, with Brooklyn veterans Dennis Schroder and Nic Claxton off the floor, Orlando found its grip on the game.

The suffocating defense that has become the Magic's calling card rattled the Nets, forcing eight turnovers in the third quarter alone. As they did in Miami Wednesday, the Magic dominated the second half, methodically overwhelming Brooklyn for a 116-101 victory. The Magic take their 2-0 record to Memphis Saturday night to face the Grizzlies.

"I'm very happy with our guys' ability to respond," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said postgame. "I think these are great lessons that we have to learn because there's gonna be a lot of games like this.

"It wasn't pretty. It was clunky. But our guys did a good job of making sure they finished it out at the end."

Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) shoots a three-point basket during the second quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Kia Center. / Mike Watters-Imagn Images

The Magic hang their hats on the defensive end. They turned Brooklyn over 19 times and scored 25 points on the extra possessions. When the Magic's defense found its rhythm, their offense followed suit.

Franz Wagner led Orlando with 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting and for a second game made half of his six attempts beyond the arc. Paolo Banchero followed up his 33-point domination of Miami with 15 points, six rebounds and nine assists. Six Magic players scored in double figures.

Moritz Wagner (18 points) and Anthony Black (10 points) helped the Magic's second unit outscore Brooklyn's backups 44-23.

"That's a huge advantage of our team, our depth. I think we're very aware of that." Wagner said postgame. "The willingness for people to step back, sacrifice minutes when somebody has it running, that's a huge advantage for us and I think everybody buys into that."

That depth allowed Mosley to keep starting guards Jalen Suggs and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on the sideline for the entire fourth quarter ahead of Saturday's second leg of back-to-back games.

"Just the ability that you trust guys you put out there [are] gonna perform," Mosley said, emphasizing Orlando's strength in that regard, "they're gonna play hard, play the right way, and keep continuing to pull for each other."

Strong second halves and finding ways to win are hallmarks of mature teams that find success in a season-long gauntlet. That this team is capable of such resilience, no matter how early in the year, is of high value for an Orlando team looking to make good on aspirations to reach new heights this year.

"You've got 82 games, and you can't always have great days," Wagner said. "Sometimes you suck. That's just how it is, the nature of it. You need to know what you're good at at all times, what you can lock in even on bad days. This group knows that.

"It's two games, let's relax a little bit and regroup, and find another way to win tomorrow."

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Up Next

The Magic hit the road for the second leg of the season's first back-to-back, playing the Memphis Grizzlies in the FedEx Forum. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m ET for the Grizzlies' home opener.

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• MAGIC-HEAT RECAP: The Magic rode 33 points from Paolo Banchero and a dominant third quarter to an opening night victory over the Miami Heat. CLICK HERE
• MAGIC SET STANDARD WITH STATEMENT FIRST WIN: The Magic emphasized carryover and fast starts all offseason and training camp. With a dominant showing on night one, Orlando backed up its talk at the first chance of asking. CLICK HERE

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