Jalen Suggs doesn’t like losing to the Raptors.
So when Magic coach Jamahl Mosley checked in with the All-Defensive guard to make sure he was good to go in the fourth quarter Friday night at Kia Center as he played under a minutes restriction, Suggs didn’t hesitate at the opportunity to help Orlando capture a key victory over Toronto.
“I told him just in that fourth I was straight,” Suggs said in the locker room after the Magic defeated the Raptors 130-120 in front of a national TV audience on ESPN.
It was during that final frame when Orlando took control of the contest by outscoring Toronto 44-21 for its second win in a row. The 44 points the Magic scored in the fourth was one shy of a franchise record (45 fourth-quarter points twice — once on Dec. 30, 1990, vs. Denver and on Jan. 26, 1994, at Charlotte).
Suggs played nearly 11 of the final 12 minutes and he hit his third 3-pointer of the evening to pull the Magic within one point at the 7:39 mark of the fourth. He dished out five of his 10 assists in that stretch as well, including three that led to dunks for Wendell Carter Jr.
The 33 minutes by Suggs marked the most since he returned from an eight-game absence due to a right knee MCL bruise. He played 24 minutes last Saturday vs. Cleveland, 27 at Cleveland two days later and 29 at Miami on Wednesday.
“I really do understand the minutes restriction stuff and all that, but I just thought [Friday night] was really important for us to come out, get a win and go secure one,” said Suggs, who ended with 14 points and six rebounds in addition to his assists. “That fourth quarter, we just kind of came out … and changed the tide and mentality of the whole building, especially off that end of the third quarter and just how rough it was.
“I wouldn’t say I was the only one because all five of us in that fourth quarter came out and played with so much more purpose,” Suggs added. “We were flying around. We were really imposing our will.”
And the Magic guard wasn’t wrong.
Desmond Bane shot 4-for-4 from beyond the arc to post 16 of his 32 total points in the fourth quarter alone. Anthony Black, who made eight of his 14 free throws in the final frame, notched 13 of his 25 points as well. Carter (23 points) and Paolo Banchero (20) each scored six when the duo along with Black and Bane played all 12 minutes of the fourth.
The last time the Magic had four players with 20-plus points in the same game was on Feb. 10, 2020, against Atlanta.
All of it led to Orlando scoring 130-plus points for the fifth time this season, a scoring mark the franchise eclipsed just twice last season. The Magic improved to 12-1 when notching 125-plus points in a game after they only scored 125-plus points three times last season.
“It just continues to say what we’re capable of doing,” Mosley said. “We can sit and watch and learn from it. What were the things that allowed us to be successful?
“That was sharing and moving the basketball, playing with intention, getting back in transition and keeping them out of the early easy baskets,” he added.
Although the Magic eventually limited Toronto to seven fastbreak points in the second half, they first gave up 18 fastbreak points before the intermission. Orlando also limited the Raptors to just 22 second-half points in the paint after it allowed 34 paint points in the first two quarters.
After trailing by 14 points near the end of the third quarter, the Magic stormed back to lead by as many as 13 in the fourth.
It marked the 13th time Orlando had overcome a double-digit deficit to win a game this season. The team only had 12 wins when trailing by 10-plus points last season.
“Definitely just gives us momentum,” Black said when asked what that type of win can do for the group. “We’re trying to get on a winning streak. It’s been awhile since we did that, so it’s good that we have a lot of film to watch over these last couple games to see what’s working.
“And just to keep maximizing that as we go, it’s good for us as we start to make a run,” he added.
Orlando (25-22) last won at least three games in a row Nov. 25-Dec. 1.
Accomplishing that goal won’t be easy, either, when the Magic make their lone trip of the season to San Antonio for a Sunday matinee matchup and travel to Oklahoma City two days later.
Magic forward Franz Wagner (left high ankle sprain injury management) will miss his sixth contest in a row. The Spurs, who sat inside the West’s top three, played Saturday afternoon at Charlotte.
Regardless of who’s available, Orlando is aware of what it’ll take to win on the road after it pieced together two straight wins by scoring 130-plus points while also allowing 120-plus in both.
And beating the Raptors (29-21) was icing on the cake for Suggs.
“For me, I’m going to be honest, I always like beating the Raptors, especially when they’re rolling and they’re moving up in the conference in a space where we’re trying to get to,” he said. “So I wanted to win and I didn’t want to drop a game at home before this stretch.”
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com
Up next …
Magic at Spurs
When: 4 p.m., Sunday, Frost Bank Center
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida, CW18