Jalen Suggs registered his first triple-double as the Orlando Magic opened a four-game homestand with a 118-98 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night.
Suggs, in his fifth year with the Magic, finished with 15 points, 11 assists, 11 rebounds, four blocks and three steals in just 29 minutes. He checked out with 7:51 remaining and his team up 22.
Desmond Bane notched 23 points and Paolo Banchero added 22 for the Magic, who never trailed and led by as much as 26 while ending a two-game losing streak.
Rookie Egor Demin made six 3-point attempts on the way to a career-high 26 points for the Nets, who dropped their ninth straight against Orlando. Nolan Traore matched his career high with 21 points.
The Nets, who released former star Cam Thomas before the game but did not trade leading scorer Michael Porter Jr. before the deadline, have lost 10 of their last 11.
Orlando jumped out to a 10-3 lead on Suggs’ fadeaway jumper with 9:00 left in the first quarter. Demin answered with five quick points for Brooklyn to keep it close.
Brooklyn went more than five minutes bridging the first and second quarters without a field goal. The Magic capitalized with Bane scoring twice on drives to the basket to push the lead to 34-23. On the Nets’ next possession, Ziaire Williams was called for a technical foul when he slapped the basket stanchion in frustration after a no call on teammate Danny Wolf’s missed layup. Bane made the free throw with 8:33 left in the half.
Orlando’s lead swelled as large as 21 points in the second quarter as the Nets were well on their way to shooting 34.1% for the half. Brooklyn went on a 9-2 run late to trim the lead to 56-40 at the break.
Orlando’s lead remained steady in the third quarter. Suggs had a steal and a 360-degree dunk at the 9:17 mark to make it 67-48. Bane scored on a fast break to boost the lead to 88-65 just before the end of the third.
With the Magic leading 104-79 with six minutes to go, Brooklyn put all five of its 2025 first-round picks — Dëmin (No. 8 overall), Traore (No. 19), Drake Powell (No. 22), Ben Saraf (No. 26) and Wolf (No. 27) – on the floor together for the first time this season. They outscored the Magic 19-14 the rest of the way.
–Field Level Media
