ORLANDO, Fla. — For a few years now, Orlando Magic players, coaches and front-office members have attempted to explain the essence of what they’ve built to a skeptical national audience.
What they accomplished Saturday night illustrated exactly what they’ve been talking about.
Playing without their injured top-three scorers, and reeling after Sixth Man of the Year candidate Moe Wagner suffered a potentially serious knee injury, the Magic pulled off one of the largest fourth-quarter comebacks in NBA history.
Down 22 points at the start of the final quarter, the Magic shocked the Miami Heat 121-114 at Kia Center.
“You can’t really explain that,” Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said. “That’s something I haven’t seen. I have not seen that ever in my years in the league: the ability to stay with it despite all of the circumstances that started in the beginning of the game.”
The final quarter will be remembered as one of the greatest regular-season quarters since the franchise was founded. The Magic outscored the Heat 37-8, thanks largely to contributions from players who typically don’t play heavy minutes. Former first-round pick Cole Anthony poured in 27 of his 35 points in the second half. Swingman Trevelin Queen, who is on a two-way contract, provided energy and hit a pair of key shots. And 33-year-old journeyman point guard Cory Joseph played all 12 minutes.
“I’m just blessed to be a part of something that amazing,” Queen said.
The Magic did it without franchise cornerstones Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, both sidelined by torn oblique muscles. Jalen Suggs, the team’s best perimeter defender and its starting point guard, sat out because of a sprained ankle. Gary Harris, a backup guard, missed the game because of a hamstring strain.
If their absences felt insurmountable, the most crushing blow of all occurred late in the first quarter, when Moe Wagner drove into the lane, made a jump-stop and crumpled to the parquet court as he clutched his left knee. Team officials said Wagner would receive an MRI on Sunday, but everyone on the close-knit team seemed to fear for the worst. Wagner is one of the most enthusiastic players on a roster filled with passionate players, and the Magic often rely on his grit and spark off the bench.
“Put some prayers out there for Moe Wagner,” Anthony said after the game. “Man, you’re not going to meet a dude who works as hard as him, who is as committed to the game as him and just truly, truly loves the game and also, at the same time, is just a great human being. To see what happened to him tonight — obviously, we’re going to keep him in our prayers — I know that as a team we wanted to go get this win for him.”
The Magic at first appeared shell-shocked by Wagner’s injury. Plagued by foul trouble and horrid shooting, Orlando fell behind by 25 points midway through the second quarter. Upset at a widening free-throw discrepancy, Mosley received a technical foul from umpire Nate Green. A minute later, crew chief David Guthrie whistled assistant coach Jesse Mermuys for a technical foul. A few minutes later, starting power forward Wendell Carter Jr., angry that a goaltending violation was not called on Miami, received two technical fouls from referee Marat Kogut, forcing Carter’s ejection from the game. Wagner’s injury and Carter’s ejection left the Magic with only two bigs, starting center Goga Bitadze and forward Jonathan Isaac.
Truth is, at that moment, perhaps the only people inside the arena who thought the Magic would win the game were Magic players and coaches themselves.
The Heat were missing Jimmy Butler, who was out because of a stomach bug. But the Heat still had center Bam Adebayo, one of the sport’s best defensive big men, and guard Tyler Herro, their leading scorer.
For Miami, the fourth quarter was an unmitigated disaster. The Heat made only two of their 18 field-goal attempts and turned the ball over five times. They managed to score only eight points, their lowest point total in any quarter this season.
“We all had our fingerprints in this loss, in that fourth quarter, including myself,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And you also have to credit them. They stepped up their defense. They got stops. That’s what they do.”
According to the Associated Press, NBA teams leading by at least 22 points entering the fourth quarter had gone 796-0 since Dec. 22, 2019.
“It was tremendous effort and togetherness,” Magic swingman Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said. “I love being part of history, but just as far as our team — with a guy getting thrown out of the game, the injury to Moe, having Franz and Paolo already out and Jalen not playing tonight — it just shows a lot about our team and how tough we are, how resilient we are. We never give up.”
The Magic’s 25-point comeback tied the franchise record for the largest comeback.
After the final buzzer, former Magic shooting guard Terrence Ross, who contributes to the team’s radio broadcasts, came bounding through one of the arena’s tunnels, a gigantic smile on his face.
“That might’ve been the best win I’ve ever seen from the Magic!” Ross said.
No one else could remember anything like it, either.
The dejection stemming from Wagner’s knee injury gave way (for a moment, anyway) to pure elation.
Anthony did the team’s walk-off interview on FanDuel Sports Network. Tears welled in his eyes as he mentioned how he had been unhappy with his performances but also how much he loves playing for the Magic.
Suggs and fellow teammates Anthony Black and Tristan da Silva stood nearby, beaming.
When Anthony finished talking and started walking toward the Magic locker room, Black gave him a chest bump. Suggs embraced him. Da Silva rubbed Anthony’s head and hugged him, too.
“Just to feel that same love back and know I’m always going to get that same love, it’s something that I don’t think is appreciated as much, especially around the league,” Anthony said later. “You don’t get this many good people in one organization. You don’t get this many high-character people in one organization. So, I’m just blessed to be a part of this.”
Now, everyone else knows, too.
(Photo of Trevelin Queen and Cole Anthony: Nathan Ray Seebeck / Imagn Images)
