Prior to Thursday’s game between the Magic and Clippers, coach Jamahl Mosley stressed the importance of his team continuing to turn defense into offense and score in transition.
Orlando did that and more inside Kia Center when it racked up a season-high 39 fastbreak points en route to a 129-101 victory during the Clippers lone trip to Central Florida this season.
The Magic’s 39 fastbreak points were their most in a single game since Feb. 16, 2000 and the second most in franchise history (since the stat started being tracked in 1996-97).
Rocking their new City Edition uniforms for the first time and playing without Paolo Banchero (left groin strain) for the fourth straight game, the Magic had six different scorers finish in double figures, including Jalen Suggs, who notched a season-high 23, and three others with at least 7 points.
Although eight-time All-NBA guard James Harden led all scorers with 31 points, Los Angeles (4-11) was missing its own key players in Kawhi Leonard, Bradley Beal and Derrick Jones Jr. when it dropped its third game in a row and sixth away from home.
With five wins in their last six games, the Magic (9-7) host the Knicks on Saturday in the first game of a back-to-back. Orlando travels to Boston the next night.
Super Suggs
Suggs set the tone on both ends of the floor in the first half with his quick pull-ups from beyond the arc (4 for 7 from 3 in the first half alone) and physical style of play with 2 blocks and 2 steals.
He dove for loose balls, created scoring chances for his teammates and applied the required pressure on the other end of the floor as the head of the snake for Orlando.
While Suggs came out firing when he shot 7 for 11 from the floor before the break, Wagner and Bane were a combined 3 for 13 prior to halftime. But that didn’t slow the duo down from making their mark.
Bane (15 points) hit two triples early in the fourth while Wagner (20) battled his way to the free throw line where he shot 10 for 12 in 30 minutes.
Although Suggs led the Magic in scoring at the half, it was Tristan da Silva who helped settle down Orlando’s offense in the second quarter with back-to-back 3s and additional transition scoring. The second-year pro hit his third 3 in the fourth to end with 17 points.
Suggs didn’t slow down in the third quarter hitting his fifth 3 of the night while continuing to distribute the ball, recording 7-plus assists with at least 2 steals for a second game in a row. He only played in the first three quarters.
Bench boost
Jonathan Isaac didn’t waste much time to make his impact on the game when he hit a 3 on his first possession of the night. He was efficient early notching 9 points in 3 minutes of first-quarter action.
Third-year pro Jett Howard (8 points) also hit his first 3 in the opening frame and later added a second late in the third quarter.
Anthony Black was active on both ends to start notching 5 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in the first half. Although he shot 1 for 5 from the floor to open, Black ended 4 for 9 with 12 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
Orlando’s bench outscored LA’s 47-37 when Magic backup center Goga Bitadze added 10 points in 16 minutes.
Takeaways and turnovers
The Magic did a good job of taking advantage of the mistakes made by the Clippers throughout the night while limiting their own.
Orlando scored 33 points off 21 takeaways while only committing 11 turnovers for 13 Clippers points.
Seven different members of the Magic recorded a steal, including Black who led with a team-high seven.
Rookie watch
Magic first-round pick Jase Richardson entered the game with five minutes left and his team ahead by 18 points.
Richardson hit his lone 3 and added 1 rebound with an assist in limited action late.
On G League assignment, Orlando second-round pick Noah Penda played in his second game with Osceola in Austin, Texas on Thursday night.
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com
