Without Franz Wagner, the Orlando Magic lose against the top team from the West. Things aren’t going well for world champion Dennis Schröder and the Toronto Raptors either – the coach then leaves the game because of the referees. The NBA on Wednesday morning
Without Franz Wagner, who is still injured on his ankle, the Orlando Magic clearly lost the top game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Despite a strong performance by Franz Wagner’s brother Moritz, Orlando suffered a clear 92:113 loss in its own arena on Tuesday evening (local time).
Moritz Wagner was his team’s best scorer with 21 points and underlined his good performance with eight rebounds. The fact that it was still not enough for the Magic to win was also due to a rather weak performance by Orlando’s top star Paolo Banchero. The 21-year-old scored just 18 points and made only eight of 22 shots from the field.
While the Timberwolves defended their top spot in the Western Conference, Orlando is in eighth place in the East after its 16th defeat of the season (21 wins). However, the gap to the places in front is manageable
Raptors lose narrowly – Rajakovic loses his cool
World champion captain Dennis Schröder and the Toronto Raptors meanwhile missed out on a prestigious win at the Los Angeles Lakers. In a close game in the Californian metropolis, the Raptors lost 131:132.
Schröder once again came off the bench and contributed ten points and six assists. Anthony Davis dominated the game for the hosts with 41 points and eleven rebounds. Superstar LeBron James scored 22 points and provided twelve assists.
Toronto’s Head Coach Darko Rajakovic made the headlines after the game. In view of the 23 free throws that the Lakers were awarded by the referees in the final quarter – compared to two for his own team – the Serbian lost his composure. “That’s a disgrace,” the 44-year-old shouted at the press conference. “Do you want the Lakers to win? Then let us know and we won’t even travel.” The refs only whistled in favour of the Lakers and “saw what they wanted to see”.
Hartenstein’s Knicks continue on the road to success
Meanwhile, the New York Knicks and Isaiah Hartenstein continue to thrive. With a 112:84 win at home in Madison Square Garden against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Knicks celebrated their fifth win in a row and are currently fourth in the chasing pack in the East. Hartenstein scored five points, but shone under the basket with a strong 14 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks suffered an unexpected setback. Still without Maximilian Kleber, who is suffering from a toe injury, the Texans lost their home game against the Memphis Grizzlies 103:120, despite Kyrie Irving (33 points) and Luka Doncic (31) both breaking the 30-point mark.
