An outstanding Franz Wagner led his Orlando Magic to victory over the Detroit Pistons with 38 points. The German international’s team struggled for a long time against the bottom team in the Eastern Conference
The Orlando Magic left the court victorious for the third game in a row: After the narrow 108:106 surprise win against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the leaders of the Western Conference, the team from Florida led by German basketball world champions Franz and Moritz Wagner also beat the Detroit Pistons 111:99. However, Orlando had a surprisingly tough time for a long time against the bottom-placed team in the Eastern Conference.
Orlando even went into the first quarter break on Sunday trailing by five points, before the Magic turned up the heat in the second period and took a three-point lead into the break. The third quarter was then the moment for Franz Wagner, who scored eleven points in this period alone and so gave the Magic some breathing space.
The German player drained all of his first ten shots in the second half and a three to make it 98:90 with less than seven minutes left on the clock ultimately sealed victory for the Magic. With his 38 points, the younger Wagner brother also set his previous career best, having also scored 38 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on December 28, 2021. His brother Moritz also made a decent contribution off the bench against the Pistons, scoring ten points and grabbing five rebounds in ten minutes.
With a record of 27 wins and 23 defeats, the Magic are now tied with the Indiana Pacers in sixth place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference and remain in the thick of the play-off race. Detroit, on the other hand, are bottom of the Eastern Conference after their 43rd defeat in 49 games this season.
Schröder loses despite taking a 23-point lead
Daniel Theis was also able to celebrate at least one success, but the center did not play in the Los Angeles Clippers’ 103:95 win over the Miami Heat. The Clippers are still clearly on course for the play-offs in third place in the Western Conference.
Quite different from the Toronto Raptors. The team led by national team captain Dennis Schröder lost 127-135 in double overtime at the Oklahoma City Thunder despite leading by 23 points at one stage. Schröder, who scored 19 points, and the Raptors are already five wins behind tenth place in the East, which is enough to qualify for the play-in tournament.
