Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said his team is starting to believe it can compete with – and defeat – the best teams in the NBA, and that showed when his squad knocked off the Denver Nuggets 124-119 Wednesday night.
The victory extended the Magic’s winning streak to five games.
Orlando has another big challenge ahead when it meets the visiting Boston Celtics in an NBA in-season tournament game Friday afternoon. Boston improved its record to an NBA-best 12-3 by beating the Milwaukee Bucks 119-116 on Wednesday.
“That’s what the growth of this team is turning into — the belief system of knowing what we’re capable of doing in big games,” Mosley said. “I can’t say enough how proud I am of this group. How hard they worked and how they continue to believe in what they’re capable of doing on a regular basis.
“The trust and belief these guys have in one another. … Our identity is that we’re a defensive team that strives for pushing each other to be better every night.”
Franz Wagner scored 24 of his team-high 27 points in the second half of the victory over the defending champion Nuggets. Paolo Banchero added 23 points in the win.
“I think (Wagner’s) ability to see, and communicate the things that he sees … that’s not easy for a lot of people to do, because he sees the game a little bit differently because of his IQ,” Mosley said. “In the way he’s able to communicate it with his teammates is very special, and then at the end he had 24 points in the second half. They challenged him and he stepped up. He made big play after big play.”
The Magic broke a 115-115 tie on a Banchero 3-pointer with 1:49 to play. Banchero, last season’s NBA Rookie of the Year, shot 4 of 5 from behind the 3-point arc. He’s shooting 45.5 percent on 3-point attempts this season after finishing at 29.8 percent last season.
“A lot of teams try to stop me from getting to the rim so my whole thing is just making ’em pay,” Banchero said. “I’ve always been a good shooter so it’s just believing in it and taking the right ones, the ones that are in rhythm, the ones that feel good. And when I take ‘em, I’m shooting with confidence.”
The Celtics received 26 points and eight assists from Jaylen Brown, and 23 points and 11 rebounds from Jayson Tatum in their triumph over Milwaukee.
Boston led throughout the game, but had to fend off a late run by the Bucks. Kristaps Porzingis added 21 points.
“Obviously, the fans and everyone in the building knew this was No. 1 and No. 2 seed (in the Eastern Conference) playing against each other, and that just adds more fuel to the atmosphere,” Porzingis said. “The energy was there. We played hard and they made a good push at the end and almost made a comeback, but we held strong.”
The Celtics are 2-0 in in-season tournament games, and are the only unbeaten team in the East’s Group C. Boston’s victories came against Brooklyn and Toronto.
Orlando has won two of its three in-season tournament games. The Magic beat Chicago and Toronto after opening with a loss to Brooklyn.
– Field Level Media