Magic rookie Paolo Banchero continues hot start with near 30-point game

Banchero continued his hot start to the season, and it nearly resulted in his first career 30-point game.

Orlando Magic rookie Paolo Banchero continued his hot start to the season on Wednesday, and the performance nearly resulted in his first career 30-point game.

Banchero produced a career-high 29 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots and one steal in a 103-92 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He finished the contest by shooting 10-of-19 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, in 37 minutes.

He became the third No. 1 pick to record at least 20 points in each of his first five career games. He is also the seventh player in history to reach that mark over that time span.

“I’m just out there playing hard, playing to win,” Banchero said. “I’m not surprised. It is what I expect out of myself playing at this level and there is a lot of stuff I can get better at and improve on. I’m not satisfied. I’m playing well but it is not translating to wins so, obviously, there is more to do. You can’t get caught up in the individual stuff right now. You got to be worried about getting right with the team and trying to get some wins.”

Banchero scored 16 points in the fourth quarter to help keep the Magic around late. He continued to work inside the paint to finish or draw contact and get to the line. He even had his shot on, hitting two 3-pointers in the period.

Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley liked his aggressiveness.

I think he did a good job of getting downhill and trying to get to the basket a lot of times and not trying to settle. I think they did a good job being physical with him early and being physical with us early but (it was) his ability to get down the floor.

The Magic cut the deficit to five points with four minutes to go but were unable to get any closer to drop to 0-5 on the season. They have stayed close enough to have a chance in each game but have yet to put together a complete game.

Banchero has seemingly had no issue to this point adjusting to the NBA. He is proving exactly why the Magic took him with the first pick and is quickly becoming a go-to player and a franchise cornerstone after just five career games.

With Banchero in the mix, Orlando figures to be a team to watch this season with its young core. The team is in the development stages but should still be entertaining with Banchero emerging as a must-watch player.

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