Orlando, 114 Phoenix 97: Magic burn Suns to win their second straight game

The Orlando Magic secured their fourth win of the season Friday night, 114-97, against a visiting Phoenix Suns team.

The contest began as a back-and-forth affair, with neither team taking more than a three-point lead through the first five minutes.

That said, with 5:04 to play in the opening period, Chuma Okeke gave the Magic a six-point lead (20-14) after hitting his first three-pointer of the game.

The Magic closed the first quarter with a seven-point lead (30-23), shooting 57.1% from the field and 66.7% from beyond the arc.

Consecutive scores from Wendell Carter Jr. and Mo Bamba extended the Magic’s lead to 11 to start the second quarter, but back-to-back threes from Phoenix closed the gap to five (34-29) with 10:03 remaining.

With 7:53 to go, Damion Lee gave Phoenix the lead (37-36) and the two teams were scoreless for exactly two minutes until an Admiral Schofield three-pointer reclaimed the advantage for Orlando.

A fancy layup from Jalen Suggs and pull-up three-pointer from R.J. Hampton gave Orlando a nine-point lead with 4.9 seconds left in the first half, but a buzzer-beating three from Phoenix’s Mikal Bridges brought the Suns back to within six (58-52) entering halftime.

Suggs scored a team-high 14 points (6/8 FG) for the Magic in the first half, while Bol Bol totaled 10 points and seven rebounds in the first two quarters of play. Cameron Payne scored a team-high 11 points for Phoenix.

The Magic maintained a seven-point lead through the first five minutes of the third quarter before taking their first timeout of the second half with 6:44 to go. But from that point on, the pinstripes turned on the burners.

A pair of threes from Caleb Houstan and Okeke gave the Magic a 13-point lead and the team never looked back. Orlando, who was 7.5-point home underdogs tonight, won their fourth game of the season by 17 points.

With a 114-97 final score, all five of Orlando’s starters scored in double figures, with Terrence Ross scoring 14 points (2/3 3PT) off the bench.

Carter Jr. (20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) and Bol (13 points and 15 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles, and Wagner added 17 points and three assists.

Orlando, now winners of two in a row for the first time this season, will have the weekend off before turning their sights to the 3-10 Charlotte Hornets this coming Monday.