Paolo Banchero hit a go-ahead layup with 14 seconds remaining and scored a season-high 30 points to lift the Orlando Magic to a thrilling 115-113 win over the Utah Jazz on Thursday night in Salt Lake City.
Banchero, who’d struggled in Orlando’s first four games, had his strongest outing of the season. He scored 10 straight points for the Magic in the final minutes and made 9 of 13 field goals overall.
The 2023 Rookie of the Year also had nine rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks to help the Magic go 2-2 on a four-game trip against Western Conference teams. Franz Wagner added 21 points, and Cole Anthony contributed 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists off the bench.
Lauri Markkanen scored 22 points for the Jazz and put Utah up by a point after hitting a 3-pointer to cap a furious late rally. Jordan Clarkson added 21 points and John Collins totaled 20 points and 10 rebounds for Utah, which trailed by 10 points in the fourth quarter before the comeback.
Down seven with 3 1/2 minutes left, Utah scored eight unanswered points on a pair of Clarkson free throws and back-to-back 3s by Markkanen to go up 113-112 with 20.1 seconds remaining.
Banchero then gave the Magic their lead back, 114-113, with a tough driving bucket with 14 seconds left.
Talen Horton-Tucker’s game-winning attempt with 4.1 remaining went awry.
Anthony Black split a pair of free throws with 1.3 seconds left after the Jazz selected him to shoot free throws following an injury to Wendell Carter Jr. Carter finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Utah was unable to get a final shot off with 1.1 seconds left after an errant pass by Kelly Olynyk on the inbound play.
The Jazz took a double-digit lead at 28-18, but Orlando made it 34-30 after Moritz Wagner hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first.
The Magic used a 13-1 run to take their own nine-point advantage before settling on a 66-58 halftime lead.
Wagner gave Orlando its largest lead, 75-61, with a layup as Orlando scored nine of the first 12 points of the second half.
–Field Level Media