Beede’s breakdown: Why Magic were able to dominate Rockets
The Magic were able to keep the Rockets at bay in a high-energy opening night at Amway Center on Wednesday.
Orlando only trailed by 3 points throughout the game and led by as many as 24 in the fourth quarter to cruise to a 116-86 victory against Houston.
The win was Orlando’s first on opening night since the start of the shortened 2020-21 season. The 30-point win also marked the largest margin of victory in an opening night game in team history.
The Magic head to the west coast to start a four-game road trip at Portland on Friday. Orlando’s next home game is Nov. 4 against the Lakers, who they’ll face twice in the first six games to open the year.
Starting 5
Coach Jamahl Mosley stuck with the same starting lineup from Orlando’s first three exhibitions — Markelle Fultz, Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr. — against Houston.
They started 1 of 8 from the floor before Wagner hit consecutive 3s and eventually a third long-range basket to score 9 points in the opening six minutes.
Wagner finished with 17 points with 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 27 minutes.
Fultz scored 8 points in the third quarter and was more explosive in getting to the rim compared with the first half. He totaled 10 points with 4 rebounds and 2 assists.
Banchero, the league’s Rookie of the Year a season ago, only attempted six shots but still scored 12 points while going 6 of 7 from the charity stripe. He added 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Second unit
First off the bench for the Magic was newly extended guard Cole Anthony. He entered for Suggs and joined the rest of the starters midway through the first quarter.
Anthony sunk his first 3-point attempt. He scored 13 points to go with 3 rebounds and 1 assist in his first 14 minutes.
Later in the first quarter, Gary Harris, Joe Ingles, Moe Wagner and Jonathan Isaac joined Anthony on the floor.
Harris and Anthony provided a spark offensively for the second unit. Anthony finished with a team-high 20 points off the bench while Harris added 11 on 5 of 8 shooting.
Those five were able to keep up the same defensive intensity as Orlando’s starters and kept Houston at arm’s length.
Isaac makes most of extended minutes
After playing no more than 10 minutes in each of his three preseason appearances, the 6-10 forward played 14 against the Rockets.
A defensive disruptor throughout, Isaac recorded a violent block in the first quarter and also nailed his first 3-point try.
Isaac, who only played in 11 games last season before undergoing season-ending surgery in March to repair a torn left adductor muscle (inner thigh), ran well in transition while providing an energy boost off the bench to close the third quarter.
He slammed home an offensive rebound off Moe Wagner’s missed 3 attempt and made the free throw, too. He later caused Houston’s Jalen Green to miss a layup midair and flexed in celebration.
Rookie Watch
With the Magic ahead by 21 points late in the fourth quarter, first-round draft picks Anthony Black and Jett Howard made their regular-season debuts as they entered with the rest of Orlando’s third unit — Goga Bitadze, Caleb Houstan and Chuma Okeke.
Black recorded 2 blocks with 5 points and an assist in five minutes and made his presence known on both ends of the court in a short amount of time.
Howard also closed out the game with an assist and one attempted 3-pointer that rimmed out in his five minutes of action.
Email Jason Beede at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on X, also known as Twitter, at @therealBeede.
