TORONTO — In the hours leading up to tip-off between the Magic and Raptors at Scotiabank Arena on Friday night, Jase Richardson received a text message from teammate Jalen Suggs.
Suggs, who didn’t travel with the team to Toronto and instead returned to Orlando to focus on treatment after suffering a mild right knee bone bruise last Sunday at New York, had a short message for the second-year guard ahead of his third-career NBA start.
“He said, ‘Regardless of what you do, just make winning plays,’” Richardson told the Orlando Sentinel in the locker room.
Suggs’ message not only resonated with Richardson but it also motivated him to follow the guidance closely. Although Richardson only scored four points in 33 minutes of action, he ended the game with a team-high plus-minus rating of plus-26 with six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.
With Suggs and Paolo Banchero (right low-grade high ankle sprain) unavailable, the Magic found a way to win their first NBA Cup matchup of the season, 121-114, over the Raptors, just two nights after they lost at Toronto by 30 points.
It was a bounce-back performance for both the Magic and Richardson, who picked up three fouls in four minutes during Wednesday’s contest against the Raptors.
“Whether that’s rebounding, defending, being a playmaker or scoring, I was just trying to help my team,” Richardson said.
While the motivation of Richardson’s efforts towards the win can be traced to a pre-game text, Orlando’s overall persistence and toughness Friday night goes back months under new coach Sean Sweeney.
Sweeney had said since training camp that the team would be ready regardless of who was available on a nightly basis because of the amount of work and preparation done in the lead-up to the regular season. It would just be a matter of sticking to their team identity, one that’s focused on playing connected and with proper pace and physicality on both ends of the floor.
On Friday night, the Magic shot 53% (18-for-34) from 3-point range and 25-for-29 at the free-throw line. In addition, they recorded seven more assists in their second game at Toronto compared to their first on Wednesday night (30 vs. 23).
That ball movement led to a more balanced approach: Desmond Bane notched 28 points, Franz Wagner 26, Wendell Carter Jr. 20 and Anthony Black 13. Off the bench, Jamal Cain scored 13 points and Tristan da Silva added eight.
“I felt like we had a really great training camp and I talked about that we have evidence of how tough we are and the grit that the group has,” Wagner said. “Obviously we didn’t show it every game so far in the season and we talked about that coming into the game. I think it’s really good to see that we showed that today and that stuff’s got to become a habit.”
“And I think if it does, I think we’ll be a really good team,” Wagner added.
The makings of a great team often involve help from key role players in addition to star power. Not only did Black sink three 3-pointers, but his third triple also put the team ahead for good with 6:56 remaining in the fourth quarter. In addition, he grabbed six rebounds and dished out 10 assists with one block in 31 minutes.
It was a much stronger showing for Black compared to his performance Wednesday night (eight points and four turnovers in 22 minutes) that was preceded by him being away from the team for shootaround due to personal reasons.
“It’s been a long week,” Black told the Sentinel on Friday night. “I wasn’t with the team for those couple of days after the New York trip. And actually I got into (Toronto) a couple hours before the game. I had a little bit of a rough game on Wednesday but my teammates had my back.”
“I was able to get a couple of good nights of rest, get some good food and come out with more energy and more durability,” he added.
Black wasn’t the only member of the Magic who played with more energy and intensity on Friday night.
The team as a whole started off on the right foot and was able to sustain that style of play much of the evening. It’s what allowed them to punch back after Toronto took a 102-100 lead with 8:38 remaining in the fourth quarter.
From there, Wagner scored or assisted on 12 of Orlando’s final 21 points as the team outscored the Raptors 21-12 across the final stretch of the fourth.
“Getting this win made us 2-out-of-3 on the road and that’s a pretty good trip playing against teams that will probably be in the playoffs and (have) good players,” Black said. “So, we did a good job down two of our best players. Did a good job coming together. … It was just a good group effort.”
The Magic’s next trick will be finding a way to win at home, something they failed to do in their first pair of games under Sweeney at Kia Center against Atlanta and Minnesota.
Orlando (2-3) hosts a back-to-back that starts Sunday afternoon versus Boston (4-1) and ends Monday night against Washington (3-3), two teams above the Magic in the Eastern Conference standings after Friday night.
“We’re moving in the right direction right now,” Richardson said. “So, (we’ve got to) just keep this momentum going and go win at home.”
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com
Up next
What: Magic vs. Celtics
When: 3:30 p.m., Sunday, Kia Center
TV: MagicTV 27, DAZN (streaming)