Hawks 108, Magic 98: Cole Anthony returns, Jalen Suggs exits with injury in loss

The Magic got one point guard back but lost another.

Cole Anthony, who missed the opener with an illness, made his season debut and provided an instant offensive spark. But he was about the only member of the Magic who managed to hit a shot from the perimeter on Friday as Orlando lost to the Atlanta Hawks, 108-98. The Magic also lost Jalen Suggs, who exited in the third quarter with a sprained right ankle.

Anthony came off the bench to lead the Magic with 25 points on 8-for-12 shooting, including 4 of 5 from three. Anthony’s teammates combined to go 4-for-29 from deep in the loss.

With Suggs remaining in the starting lineup, Anthony was Jamahl Mosley’s first sub against the Hawks. He took and made his first shot, a 10-foot pull-up plus the foul to give the Magic a 19-15 lead with 2:43 left in the quarter.

Anthony then converted another three-point play, hitting a runner while drawing the foul on Trae Young to push the lead to 22-17. He banked in a runner on the next possession, finishing the quarter with eight points.

The Magic missed their first six three-point attempts of the game. That streak ended when Mo Bamba scored his first points of the season with a three that gave Orlando a 27-19 advantage that they took into the second quarter.

Paolo Banchero missed both of his shots in the first, both of which were from three after he didn’t make an attempt from deep in the opener. He was limited to two free throws in the quarter, but did show off his ability to box out, grabbing six rebounds in the quarter.

Still, the Magic were able to maintain a lead for much of the half. After Franz Wagner missed a Dirk-fade, he stripped the ball and fed Wendell Carter Jr, who hit the lay-in plus the foul (missed the FT) to open a 44-37 lead.

Banchero then drove the lane on consecutive possessions for a pair of lay-ups to make it 48-42.

Back-to-back threes by Anthony and Terrence Ross increased the Orlando lead to 54-46 late in the half. The Hawks answered with buckets by John Collins and Dejounte Murray to pull within 54-50 going into the half.

Anthony had 17 at the half on 6-for-8 shooting. Orlando shot 47.6 percent in the first half while holding Atlanta to 40.4 percent, including 4 of 18 from three. Young went without a field goal in the half, missing all seven of his shots, including five threes. He was limited to a pair of free throws but did have eight assists at the break.

Young returned to form in the third, knocking down an early three and then getting to the basket for the lay-in as the Hawks tied it at 57-57.

The Hawks went on to open a six-point lead before Banchero made his first career three to pull Magic within 72-69 with 4:51 left in third.

It was back-and-forth for the remainder of the third as Young scored 17 in the quarter. Chuma Okeke hit a three to put the Magic back on top at 80-78 with just under two minutes left.

The Magic entered the fourth with a one-point lead and Anthony then added an early three. But that and a put-back by Bol were the only Magic field goals over the quarter’s first six-plus minutes as the Hawks opened a 95-88 lead.

Banchero converted a pair of drives to the basket, but the Hawks then pulled away for good.

Young drained a corner three while falling out of bounds with the shot-clock winding down to open a 10-point lead with 3:21 left to seal it.

Young scored 23 of his 25 points in the second half and finished with 13 assists. Collins had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Murray added 20 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

Banchero posted his first double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds. He shot 6-for-18 from the field, making just one of his six attempts from three and going 7-for-8 from the free throw line. He also had three blocks.

Carter Jr. had 14 points and eight rebounds but missed all seven of his attempts from three.

Orlando had 19 turnovers in the game. Helping the Magic keep it close was their advantage at the line, where they went 24-for-30 for a plus-nine from the stripe over the Hawks.

R.J. Hampton, who in the opener oddly did not play in the first half despite the Magic being without Anthony, entered in the first against Atlanta and played 16 minutes. Caleb Houstan, first off the bench in the opener, did not play Friday.

Short turnaround and tough upcoming assignment for the Magic, who host the defending Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics in the home opener at Amway Center on Saturday.