Orlando Magic walked their talk in blowout season opening win

Before the Orlando Magic took the floor against the Miami Heat in their season opener, Goga Bitadze pulled Paolo Banchero aside.

The message from the veteran big man to the budding young superstar was a clear one: This summer this team has been doing a lot of talking and projecting what they planned to do. Now was the time to do it. Now the team had to lay down its standard for the season and deliver. It was time to act.

The Orlando Magic had nearly 30 minutes in their locker room to sit and stew over a frustrating first half. They held a four-point lead, but gave up 54 points and struggled with communication issues and especially fouling to keep the Heat alive.

The Magic had a lot to clean up as they waited for the Heat to finish commemorating Pat Riley as they put his name on their home floor. Orlando replayed the first half and tried to recover quickly. But the team really knew it was about one thing: Executing their defense better and showing their identity.

They deployed that to devastating effect, going on an 18-0 run between the second and third quarters and outscoring the Heat by 21 in the third to score a 116-97 victory in the season opener.

The Magic did a lot of talking this offseason. In Game 1 of their 2025 season, the Magic backed it up in a major way with every part of their identity and their game speaking loudly.

"It sets the tone for what the standard is for this team," Banchero said after Wednesday's game. "That's all we've been talking about. That's kind of what our whole mentality was tonight. That's what it is going to be going forward. Everyone was telling each other this was a hell of a game, but this will set the tone for how we've got to be every night coming in this year. The standard is set."

Paolo Banchero leads the way

Everything in this league starts with the star of the team. It is no coincidence that Paolo Banchero was the one most loudly speaking into existence what his team could do and what they hoped to accomplish this season. It should be no coincidence that he is the one that played the loudest.

Banchero scored 33 points to go with 11 rebounds, hitting 12 of his 24 shots and four of his eight 3-pointers. He somehow had a +42 plus/minus, including +33 in the second half. Banchero kept the team playing at his pace and worked to soak up attention and get downhill.

Once he found the formula, he became an unstoppable force. But it was how naturally the ball moved to him, how the Orlando Magic created favorable matchups and how the team stayed on the attack that stood out.

The way Banchero radiated out to others as the Magic kept pouring it on in the second half. The team had to follow that lead and do whatever was needed to secure the win.

"It starts with our best players," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Wednesday's game. "There's a poise about them that they understand exactly what we need to do, the value of possessions. You have to give so much credit to our coaches who understand the gameplan and what is working."

Banchero was not alone. Franz Wagner scored 23 points on 10-for-16 shooting. Gary Harris came off the bench to hit 6 of 9 3-pointers for 18 points. The Magic had only 14 turnovers including seven through three quarters.

Jalen Suggs struggled with foul trouble early in the game. But he picked up business in the second half, burying a deep three to cap off that early 12-0 run in the third quarter, symbolically draining it from the freshly painted Pat Riley Court sign. Suggs finished with 11 points after playing just six minutes in the first half.

Defense sets the tone

The Orlando Magic set the tone for the game with their defense in the second half. They were smothering defensively, forcing seven turnovers and holding the Miami Heat to 39.5 percent shooting. Miami could not find any room to move against the defense and slowly Orlando sank its teeth in for the kill.

Orlando's miscommunication and especially the transition disorganization quickly were corrected in the second half. The Magic were suddenly a vice grip the Heat could not solve.

That is what Magic basketball is. It is swarming and suffocating. It is all effort and energy. It is everyone working together and covering for each other. It was astounding to watch and fun to experience. . . except for the Heat.

"When you can get stops like that possession after possession and they lead to run outs and threes and buckets," Banchero said after Wednesday's win. "I've never personally played for a team like this where we can actually do that. I've played on teams that want to get stops. i don't know how many in a row we got, but it was ridiculous. It was just natural."

A lot of pieces still have to come together. But the pieces the Magic have are still plenty. And they were ready to make some noise.

Magic carry over their identity

This is what the Orlando Magic talked about all offseason. This is what they said they wanted to do.

They brought it over after the breakthrough season last year. They checked that box. And they did a whole lot more.

In blowing out the Miami Heat they made a statement of their intent and their vice grip over their closest geographic and division rivals. They did exactly what they said they were going to do.

"We wanted to get off to a good start," Gary Harris said after Wednesday's win. "We knew it was going to be a challenge. We wanted to come out and make a statement. We played together, helping each other on defense, pushing the pace on offense. We were able to knock down shots and had a lot of fun tonight."

The Magic have learned a lot of lessons together during the last three years. They learned last year and applied what happened when they got off to a slow start, going 5-20 before rallying to finish the season. They started strong last year.

After last year, they promised to play with more intensity and focus, not giving away games to help set themselves up for a stronger playoff position.

This is just the first game. There is a long way to go. But the Magic made good on all of those promises. They did it in an often loud and emphatic way against one of their chief rivals.

For this night, they walked the talk they have had all summer. And now they know they must keep walking it.