Despite Banchero's 31, Magic falter at home to red-hot Rockets

Jason Beede, Orlando Sentinel on Mar 19, 2025

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ORLANDO, Fla. — Fresh off a 3-2 road trip with only 12 games remaining in the regular season, the Magic aimed to keep their momentum rolling in front of a home crowd Wednesday night at Kia Center.

The No. 2 Houston Rockets, however, had other plans in mind.

Behind 26 points from guard Jalen Green, who scored at least 20 in the fifth straight game, Houston outpaced Orlando, 116-108, while winning its eighth straight contest.

With the eight-point win, the Rockets secure the season-series against the Magic, who fell at Houston by 13 points less than 10 days ago on the road. That night the Magic allowed a season-high 63 rebounds.

On Wednesday, the Rockets only grabbed 46 rebounds, but racked up 19 second-chance points.

In a game of runs, both sides led by as many as eight points, but Houston (45-25) led the entire second half despite 31 points from Paolo Banchero.

The Magic (32-38) hop back on the road for a single game Friday against the Washington Wizards.

What went wrong

Although the Magic at times found some holes in Houston’s 2-3 zone defense, it still gave Orlando’s offense fits throughout the night.

The zone defense limited Orlando in the first quarter when the Rockets ended the opening frame on a 16-5 run.

And while the Rockets didn’t shoot the ball great from beyond the arc (11 of 35 for 31.4%), their long-distances makes were timely. That included back-to-back 3-pointers to cap off a 12-0 third quarter that gave Houston its largest lead of the night, 80-65, to that point.

As Houston often blitzed and doubled Franz Wagner and Banchero, Orlando’s turnovers racked up as well. The Rockets talled 14 points off 12 Magic turnovers.

The Magic regularly sent Houston to the charity stripe, where it shot 29 of 32 (90.6%).

It didn’t help that Wendell Carter Jr. recorded two early fouls and earned his fifth with 4 minutes left. He shot 1 of 4 from the field for just four points.

What went right

Banchero powered Orlando’s offense when he racked up 18 points in the first half as the lone member of the Magic to attempt a free throw before the half (6 of 6 FTs).

He added 13 points after intermission to cross 30-plus for the 12th time this season. He added six rebounds and five assists in 40 minutes.

The Magic turned defense into offense in the second quarter, which powered an 18-5 run at the start of the frame. They were able to counter Houston’s zone defense at times by pushing the pace and attacking the open pockets on the floor.

That included help from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who reached 10 points by halftime with a pair of triples. But he didn’t score in the second half.

Wagner nearly recorded a triple-double with 18 points, eight rebounds and seven assists when he helped distribute the ball and attack the paint.

In his fourth straight start filling in for Cole Anthony, who missed his third game in the past four Wednesday due to what the team’s described as a left big toe strain, Cory Joseph offered the starting lineup direction and energy by organizing the offense and upping the tempo.

The veteran guard racked up a season-high 13 points.

Reserve center Goga Bitadze pieced together an efficient night when he shot 8 of 10 from the floor for 19 points in 23 minutes. The big man grabbed seven rebounds, including five on the offensive glass.

Rookie watch

Tristan da Silva only record two points, two rebounds and assists in 16 minutes.

The No. 18 pick recorded a team-worst plus-minus rating when on the court (minus-19).

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