
Banchero led Orlando in scoring and helped carry the team to an upset win on the road. The Magic got strong contributions from Banchero, Franz Wagner (18/7/5) and Cole Anthony (22/4/9) to negate a 63-point combined effort from Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. Both teams shot better than 50% from the floor, but Orlando made just a couple more plays. Banchero and Co. will look to add another win when they face the Rockets on Monday.
Wagner added two boards, six assists, two steals and a block. It was a poor night in the efficiency department for Wagner, and it didn't help that Paolo Banchero went 5-of-15 from the field. The star dup combined for 38 points on 11-of-33 shooting and failed to convert on their eight combined three-point attempts. Fortunately, all of Orlando's starters scored at least 17 points to keep this one competitive, but Orlando has now dropped five straight. Wagner and Banchero will need to play better than this to stop the current skid, especially with a five-game road trip coming up that includes games against the Bucks, Rockets, Wolves and Cavs.
Anthony is back after a one-game absence, and his return will push Cory Joseph back to the bench. Joseph only contributed eight points and five assists in 26 minutes as a starter on Tuesday, and he won't hold any streaming value on Thursday.
Though Wagner was able to extend his streak of 25-point games to three, he wasn't able to do enough to end Orlando's losing streak, which now sits at four games. Unfortunately, Wagner wasn't able to provide much else outside of points on Tuesday, which has been an issue for him since he returned from his extended absence. Sharing the court with Paolo Banchero certainly limits Wagner's usage, and he hasn't been able to contribute as many rebounds, assists and steals as he did earlier in the season. He was a fantasy superstar to start the year, but he has regressed back to being a mid-round player over the past month.
With Cole Anthony (toe) sidelined, Joseph will slide into the starting lineup after playing 10 minutes on Sunday. Joseph hasn't been a consistent part of Orlando's rotation this season, but he will get a big opportunity on Tuesday. Anthony Black will likely fill out the backup point guard minutes.