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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Franz Wagner scored a season-high 33 points Tuesday night. With Sacramento back within five in the last minute, he rebounded his own miss and made two free throws. The Orlando Magic held on to beat the Sacramento Kings 107-100 at Golden 1 Center and ended a four-game losing streak. Wagner shot 11-of-23 from the field and 10-of-10 at the line, adding 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals.
“It’s a long season,” Nikola Vučević said in Dan Savage’s NBA.com preview before Tuesday’s game. “It’s not easy when you start the way we have.”
Second-Quarter Run Puts Orlando Magic Ahead For Good
The Magic led 34-27 after one quarter. Late in the second, they put together an 18-5 run, and Wagner finished it with a 3-pointer at the 3:10 mark for a 52-43 lead. Orlando did not trail again, The Associated Press reported, and it was 57-52 at halftime.
Desmond Bane opened a 9-0 spurt in the third quarter with a 3-pointer, according to Field Level Media, and the lead reached 77-65 with 3:13 left in the period. Bane finished with 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Sacramento was back within six when Anthony Black tipped in a Vučević miss with 3.3 seconds left in the third. That sent Orlando into the fourth up 84-76, and the first eight Magic points of the quarter all came near the rim. Wendell Carter Jr. finished that 8-2 run with a dunk, and it was 92-78 with 8:02 remaining.
With 2:15 left, Black made a pullup jumper that put Orlando ahead 103-90. He finished with 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals.
Sacramento’s next 8 points all came from Zach LaVine, who made 2 free throws and then two 3-pointers. The second 3 went in with 45 seconds remaining and made it a five-point game.
Wagner missed from 3-point range on Orlando’s next possession, got his own rebound, and was fouled. He made both free throws with 21 seconds to play for a 105-98 lead. Carter dunked with 6 seconds left, and LaVine scored on Sacramento’s final possession. Carter finished with 8 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks as Orlando outrebounded the Kings 48-34.
Field Level Media reported that the 100 points were the fewest the Magic have allowed this season. They again played without Paolo Banchero, who sat out an eighth straight game with the high ankle sprain he sustained Oct. 23.
Domantas Sabonis Held Scoreless As Sacramento Kings Drop Fourth Straight
Domantas Sabonis was back in the lineup after left knee soreness kept him out of Sunday’s 114-108 home loss to Miami. He missed both of his shots and both of his free throws in 24 minutes, finished with 2 rebounds and 5 assists, and sat the last 8:02. Field Level Media reported it was his first scoreless game in 596, dating to April 2017 near the end of his rookie season.
LaVine finished with 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting, going 6-of-9 from 3-point range and 5-of-5 at the line. Darius Acuff Jr. scored 29 with 6 assists in 40 minutes.
Through 11 games, Acuff has 288 points. AP reported that no rookie had scored more over his first 11 games since 1984, when Michael Jordan scored 289 for Chicago.
The Magic are 3-7. They finish their four-game trip Wednesday in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz, with tip-off at 9 p.m. ET. Sacramento is 1-10, has yet to win at home in six tries, and hosts the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday.
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