Before the Magic battled the Spurs on Wednesday night, San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson was asked what time his team made it to their hotel room in Orlando after hosting the Grizzlies on Tuesday.
His answer?
Around 3 o’clock in the morning.
Although Jamahl Mosley‘s squad held a rest advantage entering the contest, it was Johnson’s group that exited Kia Center with a 114-112 victory over the Magic.
Orlando trailed by as many as 15 points but got within 1 of the Spurs when Franz Wagner (25 points) hit a 3-pointer with 1:04 left. Wagner then tied the game at 112 with 7.7 seconds remaining when he got fouled shooting another triple.
Trailing by 2 points, Wagner’s layup with 1.4 seconds left was blocked by Spurs center Luke Kornet.
While the Magic were without Paolo Banchero (left groin strain) for the 10th game in a row, San Antonio was missing All-Defensive center Victor Wembanyama (left calf strain) and reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle (left hip flexor strain).
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Orlando.
Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Spurs (15-6) had six players finish in double figures, including De’Aaron Fox, who made a pair of go-ahead free throws to finish with 31 points.
The Magic (13-9) wrap up their three-game homestand Friday against the Heat.
Wagner’s way
Whether it was a dunk in transition or a cut to the basket, Wagner was successful driving to the hoop.
His lone three of the night was a critical one while he shot 6 for 7 at the charity stripe. He distributed the ball with 6 assists and added 4 rebounds.
The Magic needed every point they could get from Wagner as Desmond Bane was unable to find his footing on offense. The Orlando guard started 1 for 7 from the floor and finished with 14 points.
Up-and-down Suggs
Jalen Suggs had a team-high 21 points through three quarters but couldn’t stay out of foul trouble throughout the game.
The Magic guard picked up two fouls within the first four minutes of the game and later earned his fifth foul at the 9:49 mark of the fourth quarter (less than a minute after his fourth).
Suggs (24 points) hit three 3s and added 4 rebounds with 4 assists but limited his own minutes by failing to defend without fouling. He fouled out with 25.6 seconds left in the game.
Da Silva dynamic
After shooting a combined 0-for-5 from 3-point range the last two games, second-year pro Tristan da Silva was aggressive on offense early.
He hit his first triple of the night and later added a second to post 10 points before the break.
Da Silva, however, scored just 2 points in the second half.
Rookie watch
Both Noah Penda and Jase Richardson got some run Wednesday.
Penda checked into the game with 4:41 left in the first quarter but saw just 3 minutes of action. In his short stint, he missed a pair of shots, grabbed 2 rebounds and picked up one foul.
Meanwhile, Richardson didn’t see the floor until the 4-minute mark of the third quarter with the Magic trailing by 10 points. The No. 25 pick played the rest of the game to see 16 minutes.
The first-round pick did a little bit of everything with 8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal in the extended action.
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com