After two wins that halted their downward spiral, the Orlando Magic suffered another defeat against the Atlanta Hawks. They trailed for almost the entire game.
The Hawks took control of the game right from the opening quarter. Former No. 1 pick Zacharie Risacher (21 PTS) scored 11 points in the first four minutes alone, giving his team the early lead. A 13-0 run across the quarter put the Magic 18 points behind (23-41) after just 15 minutes.
Returnee Jalen Suggs (12, 4/8) ended the drought, but the trend was not sustainable. Atlanta went into the locker room with a +17 lead. Franz Wagner had just four points at that point.
Da Silva leads comeback efforts
Less than 30 seconds after the restart, it was the Berliner who scored the first points of the second half. However, there was no sign of a turnaround. Orlando couldn’t get a grip defensively, conceding at least 30 points in all four quarters. Things got even worse for the Magic in the middle of the third quarter when Desmond Bane was ejected from the game for a flagrant foul.
Tristan da Silva gave the Magic some hope at times, scoring eight points in just under a minute and a half to cut the deficit to 14 points. With 20 points, he was one of the few bright spots. Franz Wagner scored another seven points in the final quarter and finished the game with 18. Banchero was the top scorer with 22/11. This is the Magic’s fifth defeat of the current season. The team with the German trio slips to tenth place in the standings. The action continues on Friday night in the NBA Cup against the Boston Celtics.
