Paolo Banchero buried the game-winning jump shot with 25.1 seconds remaining to lead the host Orlando Magic to a come-from-behind 112-111 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
Franz Wagner led the Magic with 33 points on 14-of-28 shooting in addition to grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing out five assists. Banchero finished with 17 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter. Saturday’s win is only Orlando’s fourth in 12 games since Banchero’s return, so it was a timely statement by the former top pick in the fourth quarter.
Devin Vassell scored 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting to lead the Spurs, while Victor Wembanyama added 16 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Harrison Barnes scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while newly acquired De’Aaron Fox scored just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting in his third game with the team.
The Magic rallied to tie the game at 102 on a Banchero lay-in with 4:36 remaining. Barnes and Stephon Castle buried back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Spurs a 108-102 lead, but Orlando promptly answered with a rally of its own to tie the game at 110 on a pull-up jumper by Banchero with 1:26 remaining.
The Spurs briefly trailed early in the third quarter before Vassell put San Antonio ahead 67-66 on a mid-range jumper with 7:26 remaining in the third quarter. The Spurs extended their lead to as many as 13 points in the frame, though the Magic trimmed the lead to seven points entering the fourth quarter.
The Spurs went on a 15-5 run to take a 26-16 lead midway through the first quarter, but the Magic answered with a 16-4 run of their own to regain a two-point lead heading into the second. The Spurs answered by outscoring Orlando 30-25 in the second quarter to take a 60-57 lead into the break.
Orlando made 45 of its 88 attempts from the field (51.1 percent) and 10 of its 30 attempts (33.3 percent) from 3-point range. San Antonio finished with 41 field goals on 78 attempts (52.6 percent), making 13 of 30 attempts from beyond the arc (43.3 percent).
–Field Level Media
