Magic stave off Suns in balanced effort

Jason Beede, Orlando Sentinel on Mar 31, 2026

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ORLANDO, Fla. — After suffering the largest loss in franchise history Sunday at Toronto (a 52-point drubbing), Magic coach Jamahl Mosley wanted his team to throw the first punch Tuesday night against the Suns at Kia Center.

Orlando, which lost to Phoenix in double-overtime in late-February, did just that by jumping ahead by 16 points in the first quarter, but it saw another double-digit lead disappear throughout the night.

The Magic, however, remained resilient and were able to hold off the Suns, 115-111. Tristan da Silva sunk a pair of free throws to put the game out of reach with 1.1 seconds left on the clock.

It was a balanced scoring effort for the Magic, who saw Desmond Bane (21), Jalen Suggs (20), Paolo Banchero (19), and Wendell Carter Jr. (15) combine for 75 points.

Playing on the second night of a back-to-back after winning at Memphis on Monday, the Suns (42-34) were led by two-time All-NBA guard Devin Booker, who scored a game-high 34 points.

Orlando scored 26 points off 20 Phoenix turnovers and the Suns scored 18 points off 25 takeaways.

The Magic (40-35) have a quick turnaround when they return to Kia Center on Wednesday night to host the Hawks.

Starters carry weight

Suggs got going early with a nine-point first quarter and had 13 by the half with four rebounds and four assists. He picked up his fourth foul roughly halfway through the fourth but finished with eight rebounds and seven assists.

Banchero notched nine points and six assists alongside four rebounds in the first half. He ended with nine boards and eight assists.

Bane overcame a slow start by making six of his first seven attempts at the free-throw line to reach 10 points after two quarters. His layup with 6.7 seconds left in the game extended Orlando’s lead to five points.

Although Carter picked up two first-quarter fouls and added a third late in the second frame, he was impactful when he was on the floor. The Magic center notched 11 points and five rebounds in nine first-half minutes, but he earned his fourth foul less than two minutes into the third quarter.

Da Silva picked up three fouls in his first seven minutes of action and didn’t return to the floor until the start of the third quarter. He then earned two more fouls in the first nine minutes of the third quarter, but he came up huge at the free-throw line late.

Orlando’s starters scored 84 of the team’s 115 points.

Third quarter swing

The Magic led 70-56 at the break but quickly called timeout after the Suns opened the third frame on an 11-2 run.

Orlando was able to stay ahead by six to seven points much of the quarter, but Phoenix continued to shoot the ball well as it made six 3-pointers in third (matching its first-half total). The Suns then tied the game at 94 after Jordan Goodwin beat the buzzer with a corner triple ahead of the fourth.

The Magic were outscored 38-24 in the third and Phoenix took its first lead of the night roughly 30 seconds into the fourth.

Let’s get technical

Dillon Brooks, who made his return after missing the past 18 games due to a broken left hand suffered against Orlando on Feb. 21, picked up his second foul less than two minutes into the game and was handed a technical foul for complaining about it.

As the technical foul was assessed, techs were given to Bane and Booker, who got into each other’s face after the play.

Four minutes into the second quarter, Banchero was assessed a technical foul for pushing away Brooks before the start of an inbounds play.

Although he wasn’t playing, Franz Wagner also picked up a technical foul at the 7:03 mark of the second quarter from the bench.

Bane up for award

Bane was one of 12 finalists announced Tuesday by the league for the 2025-26 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award.

The annual award recognizes the player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.

Bane was joined by Jalen Brunson (Knicks), Pat Connaughton (Hornets), De’Aaron Fox (Spurs), Jeff Green (Rockets), Jrue Holiday (Trail Blazers), DeAndre Jordan (Pelicans), Duncan Robinson (Pistons), Marcus Smart (Lakers), Jayson Tatum (Celtics), Garrett Temple (Raptors) and Jaylin Williams (Thunder) as finalists for the award that current NBA players will select the winner for at the end of the season.