Banchero's 33 points, Power Magic's opening night third quarter at Miami

MIAMI – The first half of Wednesday night's season opener between the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat had the makings of a 48-minute slugfest.

The Florida rivals exchanged the lead 17 times in the first 24 minutes. Orlando led 58-54 at halftime.

Only one team started in the second half.

After a 25-minute break honoring Heat president Pat Riley and naming the court in his honor, the Magic quickly spoiled the party. A 12-0 run made it 39-18 in the third quarter and the Magic never looked back, cruising to a 116-97 win.

“We knew the ceremony was going to be at halftime, so we knew we would have more time to rest, rest and do whatever we needed to do,” forward Paolo Banchero said. “We tried the whole time to keep the energy up and keep reminding ourselves that we had to start fast in the third quarter, and that's exactly what we did.”

Banchero's double-double of 33 points and 11 rebounds made him the first Magic player since Tracy McGrady in 2003 to score 30 or more points on opening night. Only Shaquille O'Neal scored more in a Magic opener in 1993, with 42 points.

“There’s a reason why great players are great,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said after the game. “The reason he’s great is because he’s humble, he works, he cares about his teammates and he doesn’t change who he is no matter what comes his way.”

Franz Wagner had 23 points, shot 10 of 16 from the field and hit three of his six three-pointers. Gary Harris scored 18 points and made six three-pointers in nine attempts. As a team, Orlando made 18 of its 49 three-point shots – a stark contrast to last year's NBA low of 31.3 attempts per game.

Orlando outscored Miami by 15 in rebounding, limited its turnovers and turned consecutive defensive stops into attacks.

The Magic's significant gap on the scoreboard allowed the bench to remain empty for the final five minutes as fans at Kaseya Center were already heading for the exits. Rookie swingman Tristan da Silva saw his first NBA action, logging five minutes and missing his only shot attempt.

Jonathan Isaac left the game after 11 minutes of play in the fourth quarter, ran onto the court and went to the locker room. He has pain in his left hip, but Mosley said after the game that he was fine.

The stunning win was the Magic's first road win on opening night since 2003 and their first win in Miami since March 2019.

The Magic make their regular-season home debut Friday night at the Kia Center, hosting the Brooklyn Nets at 7 p.m. ET.

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