The Wagner brothers have got the new season off to a strong start with the Orlando Magic. The Magic defeated the Miami Heat by a clear margin of 116:97 thanks to an outstanding third quarter. Tristan da Silva made his NBA debut late on.
The visitors from Orlando won the third quarter 39:18, after only leading by four points at half-time. Paolo Banchero scored twelve of his 33 points (12/24 FG, plus 11 rebounds) in those twelve minutes, while Franz Wagner contributed 23 points (10/16 FG), four rebounds and four assists in just 23 minutes. His services were not needed for longer, as the Berliner had slight foul trouble in the second quarter.
After a weak preseason, however, the 23-year-old presented himself much improved and also made three of his six threes. In general, it went very well for the Magic from outside. 18 of the 49 threes went through the hoop, Gary Harris (18) made six of them. So it didn’t matter that newcomer Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (3, 0/5 FG) was not yet the hoped-for reinforcement.
Moritz Wagner came off the bench for Orlando as usual, scoring seven points (2/4 FG), six rebounds and two assists. Orlando led by up to 32 points, with the first Heat fans starting to make their way home with eight minutes left. They missed the NBA debut of Tristan da Silva, who only came on in the final five minutes and is not part of the regular rotation for the time being. The No. 18 pick failed to score and missed his only shot from outside.
Miami Heat disappoint after the break
Miami was particularly disappointing with superstar Jimmy Butler, who only scored three points (1/8 FG) in just under 26 minutes. Co-star Bam Adebayo (9, 1/5 FG, 7/10 FT) was also not a factor. The Heat’s top scorer was playmaker Terry Rozier (19, 5/15), but he was also inefficient. The hosts only hit 39 percent of their shots and also conceded 18 offensive rebounds, from which Orlando generated 25 points.
The Heat are back in action on Saturday night, when coach Erik Spoelstra’s team will face the Charlotte Hornets, who surprisingly won their first game against the Houston Rockets (110:105). Orlando has a home game against the Brooklyn Nets, featuring Dennis Schröder, earlier in the day. This could be the first time in NBA history that four Germans have played in a game at the same time.