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ORLANDO, Fla. — Franz Wagner had 35 points and 12 assists Friday night, and the Orlando Magic beat the Milwaukee Bucks 107-99 at Kia Center for their first home win of the season.
Orlando had lost its first four home games under first-year coach Sean Sweeney. The Magic have now won three straight and are 5-7 and 2-0 in East Group A of the NBA Cup. Wagner made 13 of 22 shots and grabbed 9 rebounds in his fourth straight game with at least 30 points. Milwaukee fell to 1-12 with its ninth straight loss, its worst start in 52 years.
Orlando outscored Milwaukee by 34 points in Wagner’s 36 minutes. Bucks coach Taylor Jenkins said Milwaukee let him get too comfortable.
“We just didn’t play with enough force. You know, we didn’t execute our coverages on him. When we adjusted, we still made too many mistakes,” Jenkins said.
The Magic again played without Paolo Banchero, who has a right high ankle sprain. Jalen Suggs returned from an eight-game absence with a right knee bone bruise and went 1-of-8 in 21 minutes off the bench.
Franz Wagner Finds Goga Bitadze And Desmond Bane As Orlando Magic Build Lead
Wagner said Orlando’s offense has been more consistent this season, and that seeing the same situations game after game has made his decisions easier at game speed. Several of those decisions ended in lobs.
He found Goga Bitadze for two alley-oops late in the first quarter, the second with 4.9 seconds left for a 23-15 lead. Bitadze made all five of his shots, every one an alley-oop, and finished with 12 points as Orlando outscored Milwaukee 44-26 in the paint. Sweeney described the read his ball handlers make once they get into the lane.
“When the big steps up, throw the lob. When the big stays back, knock it in,” Sweeney said.
Wagner’s passes also found Desmond Bane on the perimeter. Four of Bane’s six three-pointers came off Wagner assists, including one with 6.6 seconds left in the first half for a 52-37 lead and another that made it 65-45 in the third quarter. Bane finished with 21 points.
Milwaukee Bucks Miss 13 Free Throws As Comeback Falls Short
Milwaukee answered that 20-point deficit with 10 straight points and trailed 84-72 entering the fourth. Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 22 points off the bench and made 5 of 7 three-point attempts.
The Bucks attempted 31 free throws to Orlando’s 14 but made only 18. Kyle Kuzma went 7-of-15. Orlando made all 14 of its attempts.
Wagner scored or assisted on four of Orlando’s five field goals over the final 4:45. After Milwaukee got within 94-84, he found Tristan da Silva for a dunk and hit a 20-foot pull-up, then threw an alley-oop to Wendell Carter Jr. with 1:36 left. Bane fouled out before the clock restarted, and Tyler Herro’s three free throws cut the lead to 102-94.
After three empty possessions, Wagner took the ball from Kuzma with 47.6 seconds left and scored on a layup for a 104-94 lead. Carter followed with an alley-oop from da Silva and a free throw for a 107-94 lead with 22.2 seconds left.
Kuzma, who scored 14 points, gave his view of how Wagner kept getting to his spots.
“Well, he’s a big boy, you know, and anytime he gets smaller defenders on him, you know, he takes advantage,” Kuzma said.
A fourth-quarter rebound initially credited to Wagner was given to Bitadze on a controlled-tip ruling, leaving Wagner one rebound short of his first career triple-double.
Carter finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds. Herro scored 18 on 5-of-17 shooting, and Myles Turner had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Milwaukee.
Milwaukee hosts the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday at 7 p.m. CT. Orlando visits the Boston Celtics on Monday at 6 p.m. CT.
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