On Wednesday night, the Orlando Magic came to Frost Bank Center to take on the San Antonio Spurs in a battle between two of the youngest teams in the NBA. Orlando has been the more impressive bunch this year, but with Victor Wembanyama leading the way, the Spurs have been just as relevant.
Unfortunately, relevancy doesn’t always translate to wins, and the Magic took home the win on Wednesday by a score of 108-98. Led by Paolo Banchero, they were up by as many as 25 points in the third quarter but had to fend off a late Spurs run in the fourth quarter.
Orlando was able to overwhelm San Antonio with size and physicality, which head coach Gregg Popovich praised them for after the fact.
“They’re huge,” Popovich said via ESPN. “They’re strong, they’re big. Talking about 6-9, 6-10, 6-11 guys that are athletic. Just really impressive.”
Banchero finished the game with 25 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, and two steals while shooting 9-of-18 from the floor and 2-of-4 from beyond the three-point arc.
Meanwhile, Franz Wagner put up 20 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and one steal while shooting 9-of-16 from the field and 2-of-4 from behind the three-point line.
Wembanyama did his best to match his Orlando counterparts, as he ended the night with 21 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals, and five blocks while shooting 7-of-15 from the floor and 2-of-5 from deep.
That said, Devin Vassell led the Spurs in scoring with 26 points while Jeremy Sochan had an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double on Wednesday night.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]