Still Perfect at Home, Franz Wagner and Magic Beat Hornets in NBA Cup Opener

The Orlando Magic, led by Franz Wagner's 32 points, breezed past the Charlotte Hornets 114-89 in their NBA Cup group play opener. For a third consecutive game, the Magic held their opponent under 100 points.

Orlando Magic center Goga Bitadze (35) is congratulated by forward Franz Wagner (22 )and teammates against the Charlotte Hornets during the first quarter at Kia Center. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

ORLANDO, Fla. – Franz Wagner had the kind of night that left Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley shaking his head in disbelief.

For the third consecutive home game, Wagner was the irresistible force in a blowout victory with 32 points. The Magic outscored the Hornets by 21 points in the second and third quarters and won their NBA Cup opener comfortably, 114-89.

The Magic are 5-0 at home, 6-6 overall, and 1-0 in the East Group A of the NBA Cup.

Mosley said that Wagner is embracing the challenge of being the top option in the absence of Paolo Banchero, who missed his seventh consecutive game with a torn right oblique. Banchero, by the way, turned 22 on Tuesday.

In the second quarter, with the Magic leading 41-35, Wagner personally outscored the Hornets 13-2 to stretch the lead to 17. A baseline drive and finish over two defenders in particular impressed his coach.

"It's who he is," Mosley said of Wagner. "He does such a phenomenal job of just taking on the moment, stepping into there as a competitor. He's super competitive, and he's gonna do whatever's necessary to help his team to win."

Being the Magic's main man remains an adjustment for Wagner, but his comfort in that role is growing.

"The way I grew up playing was a lot of off the ball, just taking really good shots all the time," Wagner said. "Sometimes, it's okay to take a midrange shot and stuff like that. That's something that's not engrained or wasn't necessarily taught to me at a young age, but it's a good challenge for me."

Orlando also got double-digit contributions from Moe Wagner (18) and Suggs (17), who made his first seven shots.

LaMelo Ball led the Hornets with 35 points.

The Magic defense, which came into the game ranked second in the NBA in defensive rating, held its opponent under 100 points for the third consecutive game. They forced 22 turnovers, which led to 22 points for the Magic. During this three-game winning streak, the Magic are 92-of-146 (63%) on two-point baskets. Their opponents are 66-of-138 (48%).

"That's what we've been talking about," Mosley said. "We've done a great job of turning teams over, finishing possessions, then getting in transition and getting the easy baskets. I think that's a big key for us as we continue to move forward."

Orlando scored 17 fast-break points and its bench outscored Charlotte's reserves 45-27. The Hornets came into the contest averaging the third-most 2nd-chance points this season, but scored just six Tuesday night.

"I think our defense fueled everything tonight," Suggs said. "It wasn't shotmaking fueling us. It was getting stops on that end, then getting out and running, causing problems in transition, which is something that we do very well.

"We didn't take many possessions off on that side of the ball, which led to runouts, easy buckets, which kind of got us flowing."

Charlotte, which ranks second in the league in three-point attempts per game, took seven fewer threes than their average output.

"I give credit to our coaches. {Magic assistant coach] Lionel [Chalmers} had the scout tonight, and he did a great job of explaining exactly what was necessary for us to be able to give ourselves a chance in this game. One of those keys was keeping them off the three-point line, and the second key was keeping them off the offensive glass.

"Our guys did a great job of taking on that challenge," Mosley said. "Eight offensive rebounds for them, but limiting the second-chance points, and then they only made six threes in the second half. I think that's a big credit to our guys focusing and locking in on the game plan.

Up Next

The Magic continue their homestand with the second leg of their third back-to-back this season Wednesday night. Orlando entertains the Indiana Pacers, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. ET inside the Kia Center.

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