The Orlando Magic are looking to halt their current freefall as Victor Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox and the new-look San Antonio Spurs come to town on Saturday.
The Magic have lost 10 of their past 12 games, including five of six on their just-concluded road trip, which ended with a 112-90 defeat against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday.
The Spurs haven’t fared much better lately, losing eight of their past 11. They are coming off a 117-116 road loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night, Fox’s second game with the team.
Fox, who arrived from the Sacramento Kings via a three-team trade earlier in the week, put the Spurs ahead 116-114 by sinking a step-back jumper with 7.9 seconds remaining. Miles Bridges responding with a game-winning 3-pointer for the Hornets with 1.4 seconds to go.
Spurs acting head coach Mitch Johnson lamented his team allowing Charlotte to grab 16 offensive rebounds that led to 27 second-chance points.
“I put that under the physicality umbrella, and pretty, pretty disappointing,” Johnson said.
Fox scored 22 points and dished out six assists against the Hornets after producing 24 and 13, respectively, in his debut with the Spurs on Wednesday, a 126-125 win over the host Atlanta Hawks.
“He makes tough shots, big shots. He doesn’t shy away from the moment. That’s definitely something that we expect from him and that’s big time,” Johnson said. “When there’s players that have been in those situations numerous times, there’s a certain level of calm and confidence that they play with, and I think it exudes to their teammates.”
Orlando, meanwhile, saw Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. combine for 58 points on Thursday, outscoring the Magic’s starting lineup by 10. Orlando center Wendell Carter Jr. matched his season best with a team-high 19 points off the bench.
The Magic are starting a stretch of 10 home games in their next 11.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to steal a couple games, get our mojo back, our swagger back,” Carter said. “With us being back in the Kia Center, I know our fans are waiting for us back there, I think it’ll be a good thing. Especially these next three going into the (All-Star) break, I think it’ll set our tone for that back half of the season. I think there’s going to be a lot of emphasis on these next three.”
Wembanyama leads the Spurs in scoring (24.4 points per game) and rebounding (10.9), though his most impressive contribution has come on the defensive end. He is averaging 3.88 blocks per game. If he maintains that pace, it would be the most by an NBA player since Alonzo Mourning averaged 3.91 during the 1998-99 campaign.
Franz Wagner has been Orlando’s engine this season, averaging team highs of 24.8 points and 5.1 assists per game, plus 5.4 rebounds. Paolo Banchero has been a heavy contributor in his 19 games, averaging 22.3 points and 7.2 boards.
Georgian center Goga Bitadze is in the midst of a breakout campaign and leads the team at 8.1 rebounds while adding 9.1 points per game. Both are career highs.
