Franz Wagner's stat line through three quarters on Sunday was not inspiring much faith.
The Orlando Magic were once again playing without Paolo Banchero thanks to an early-season injury. The spotlight had turned to the Magic's other forward once again to keep the team steady at a critical juncture.
The first three quarters did not look that way. Wagner was shooting 1-for-10 with three turnovers. The Magic were -7 in his minutes as the starting group struggled to launch. The team was struggling to keep in contact with the New York Knicks to get their first win.
He was contributing in other ways, but the Magic needed Wagner to do more. They needed him to be their star to get their first win.
Who knows what finally set Wagner off and got him going? But a driving layup on the Magic's second possession was the start of a quarter to remember. A quarter where Wagner dragged the team over the finish line and to their first win.
Wagner scored 21 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, hitting the go-ahead bucket on an and-1 flip shot as part of an 11-0 spurt. The Magic gave up that brief lead, but they truly never looked back in a 111-102 victory. Wagner got them over the finish line with a stunning performance.
"Just a good job of sticking with it," Anthony Black said after Sunday's win. "You could say the game wasn't really going his way for the majority of it. But on the bench, our talk to him was: stay with it, stay aggressive, keep trusting yourself and make the right plays. We believe in you, and we're going to need you if we are going to win the game. He turned it up in the fourth quarter and got to the rim and the free-throw line. Great player, willed us to victory down the stretch for sure."
Wagner's final stat line looked like what a star does -- 23 points, a career-high 13 rebounds and nine assists, falling one assist shy of his first career triple-double. The result is what a star looks like too.
For the Magic to succeed with Banchero out, they will need Wagner to play at the same All-Star level he did the last two times Banchero missed significant time. They will need him to be their star this season.
It took some time, but Wagner set a high bar for what comes next for the Magic.
The finishing flourish
The Orlando Magic needed a lift and needed someone to put their stamp on the game. That is what it will take to win. That is what teams rely on their stars to do every game.
A team gets its energy from its stars. They are more likely than not the team captains. They have the ball in their hands. Their decisions dictate the team's efficiency. How they play determines in many ways how the team will play.
With Paolo Banchero out, the Magic would turn toward Wagner. They needed him to finish. The rest of the team would get its energy from him.
Wagner becoming more aggressive suddenly lit the spark for a Magic team that was constantly struggling to get over the hump. Constantly struggling to take the lead.
That is when Wagner truly took over and put his stamp on the game. He scored nine of 11 points in a decisive 11-0 run to take the lead for the first time. He had four straight points and added an assist in the run that extended the Magic's lead to seven points.
"I thought his aggressiveness was great," Sean Sweeney said after Sunday's win. "I thought he did a great job attacking and making good decisions. Early it felt like he was trying to probe and find avenues to attack in the second half. But in the fourth quarter, he saw the space, took the space and then made the right play.
As Wagner came alive offensively, the rest of the team picked up its energy too. It began a feedback loop that lifted the team.
Something clicked on, and he shot 8 for 13 in the fourth quarter. Suddenly, he got downhill, got to the rim and put pressure on the Knicks' defense.
Whether it was will, a different offensive design or shooting that finally opened up the lane, Wagner took it. He took control over the game. And got the Magic to a victory.
A star when he is struggling
No player can do it alone, of course.
The Orlando Magic needed a big second half from Desmond Bane -- 16 points on 4-for-6 shooting in the second half for him. They needed the surprising three-point marksmanship off their bench. Anthony Black and Tristan da Silva each hit five 3-pointers.
As important as Wagner's finishing flourish was, the most important stat likely was the other ways Wagner contributed while he was finding his scoring touch.
The star steps up in the big moments, undoubtedly. But they also put their fingerprints on every aspect of the game.
Wagner did not have a great game, shooting 9-for-23 overall and 1-for-10 in the first half. He was 9-for-16 in the restricted area and failed to make a shot outside the paint. The Magic's improved shooting might lessen the traffic in the paint, but teams will still pack the paint to keep him from getting to the rim.
"I was pretty aggressive, I was just making bad reads the first three quarters," Wagner said after Sunday's win. "A lot of their defense is making sure we don't get in the paint. I think I was making it a little too easy on them to do that. I thought my teammates in my stretches did a way better job of moving the ball and getting good looks for the team. I think the game also has a rhythm to it. Once you get a rhythm to it, a lot of that stuff seems a little easier."
But Wagner still had his imprint on the game. He grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds and dished out nine assists. Eight of those assists came in the first half, and seven of those led to threes.
Wagner was not scoring. He was not pouring in the points. But he knew that moment would come. He was everywhere on the floor, his teammates stepped up to keep the team in the game.
And then Wagner finished.
All eyes are on Wagner to lead this team once again early in the season. He stepped up to the plate and played like the All-Star he can be.
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