An unexpectedly physical game was getting on Franz Wagner's nerves.
He got pushed down by Josh Green and rolled his ankle early in the fourth quarter. He was clearly frustrated. That added to a moment in the third quarter when he fell into the first row of seats and a fan started taunting him. Wagner did not seem to like that. So everything was boiling over.
Wagner is usually the quiet type. He is intense and competitive, but he is never someone to color outside the lines too far. He is not a trash talker or someone who gets fiery beyond talking to himself.
When he picked up a technical foul midway through the fourth quarter after hitting a shot over Svi Mykhailiuk, knocking him to the side (a likely dive from Mykhailiuk), it felt out of character.
This was not the Wagner everyone knew and loved. As the Delta Center fans booed him on every touch, he embraced being the villain. With each made shot, he talked louder.
That sparked a wild run that turned a close game into a rout.
Franz Wagner and Desmond Bane combined to power the Magic to a game-closing 25-10 run and a 123-108 victory to close their road trip with an even 2-2 record. The Magic had some swagger and confidence back. The sleeping giant had been awakened.
Wagner scored a career-high-tying 38 points. Bane made seven 3-pointers on his way to 25 points. Anthony Black had 22 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.
Orlando struggled to shoot early, but ultimately made 18 3-pointers, shooting 39.1 percent from three. The team made 7-for-12 from deep in the fourth quarter.
That moment when Wagner broke out of his shell and barked at the Jazz as he torched them time and time again gave the Magic the energy to break out and overwhelm the Jazz. Orlando has rarely asserted its will like this during this season.
Regardless of the opponent, that is a positive thing for the Magic.
Anthony Black takes his share
Throughout the early part of the season, the Orlando Magic have been all Franz Wagner. This game was ultimately all about Wagner in the end.
His usage is way up. He leads the league in drives per game, is among the top players in passes per game and is second in the league in touches per game since Paolo Banchero's injury. Wagner has gotten used to the burden and is playing with a lot more comfort.
But the Magic need someone else to carry their share. Wagner cannot play 48 minutes. And giving him a breather would help.
That is where Anthony Black has stepped up in recent games. He is back in rhythm since returning from the ankle injury. And he is playing aggressively off the dribble.
It is good to see him fil up the stat sheet.
Black had 14 points, five rebounds and five assists in the first half, making 4-for-10 from the floor. That is the aggressive play the Magic will need just to keep this thing afloat. They need more players who can carry the load and create.
Wagner said after the game that Black's play early set an aggressive tone for the team.
Black is slowly expanding his game. He looks confident with his jumper. And he is not playing too fast.
Now that he looks healthy after the early season injury, Black is finding a groove. And that is the prelude to a really strong season.
Defense comes alive?
Everyone has been waiting for the Orlando Magic to find their defense. The frustrating part of last season was the step back the defense took. The worrying thing about this season was how slow the defense has looked.
Nobody wanted to look at the rankings this deep into the season and see the Magic in the bottom 10 in defensive rating. Everyone knows that is not the team's formula for winning under any circumstances.
The Magic are not quite the defensive juggernaut they were two or three years ago. But the team is trending back in the right direction with at least three solid defensive games in a row.
Orlando gave up only 108 points and held the Utah Jazz to 40.7 percent shooting. The Jazz went more than six minutes without a field goal in the third quarter, missing 13 straight field goals (but scoring 10 points thanks to fouls). They went 4.5 minutes without a field goal during that early part of the 25-10 closing run.
Orlando's defense constricted Utah and contested a lot of mid-range jumpers. It withstood the fouling in the third quarter and several three-point barrages. It was consistently and ultimately held the day.
The Magic held the Jazz to just 109.3 points per 100 possessions, a second straight game keeping an opponent to less than 110 points per 100 possessions. It helped the Magic climb to 21st in defensive rating, almost out of the bottom 10.
Orlando is still building its defensive habits. But the team is undoubtedly getting there.
Tired legs
The schedule alarms should have been blaring when the schedule came out with this Sacramento-Utah back-to-back. Regardless of opponent quality, any trip east across time zones should raise some alarm.
The Orlando Magic looked every bit that tired for much of the night. There was not a lack of fight. But the Magic were late and short on a lot of things. That became a new hurdle for them to overcome in the game.
That was evident in the fouling.
The Magic committed 28 fouls and gave up 34 free throw attempts for the Jazz.
Utah shot only 8 for 24 from the field in the third quarter. But the Jazz still ate all the way into a seven-point halftime lead because they went 13-for-14 from the foul line in the third quarter alone.
That fouling slowed everything down for the Magic. They could not get out in transition or establish much of a rhythm. The fouling put them on their back foot. And they were playing tentative. Aggression is everything in this Magic offense.
Everyone has to play back-to-backs and figure things out. That is the nature of the NBA.
But with so many players out with injury -- Jamal Cain joined the injured ranks -- the Magic were clearly battling fatigue as much as they were battling the Jazz. Everything was just a step late.
It took a long time for the Magic to find their rhythm. This looked like a tired team. This was a gutsier win than a lot of people might otherwise recognize.
Add us as a preferred source on Google