The Orlando Magic were clicking on all cylinders on Thursday night against the Sacramento Kings and made coach Jamahl Mosley happy in the process.
The Orlando Magic followed up the All-Star break with a bang after beating the Sacramento Kings on Thursday, 131-94.
Orlando hit 27 3-pointers in the win; marking the first time in franchise history it has logged 20-plus threes in consecutive games. However, the consensus regarding the team’s success after the game was attributed to a strong defensive effort.
“I really think it was our defense creating some early, easy offensive looks,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said after the victory. “We were able to get downhill, attack the basket, and then we were able to get to spray outs for threes. I thought the guys did a great job of sharing it, moving it, trusting the pass, and just trusting their teammates.”
The Magic recorded 13 steals in the win; marking the fifth-straight game they have recorded 10-plus steals, which is good for the third-longest streak in franchise history. And for Mosley, it was gratifying to see the work his team conducted in practice from the perimeter pay dividends in the game.
“I thought it was great,” Mosley said. "The guys did a great job at practice yesterday, understanding the shots we were going to get versus this team. Our coaches did a great job of getting these guys set up in the right situations, the right spaces. And guys were confident and comfortable setting their feet down and being ready to knock down shots.”
With forward Franz Wagner unavailable for an indefinite amount of time due to an ongoing left ankle injury, Paolo Banchero needed to step up for his team, and he did just that in a game-high 30-point effort that saw him remain aggressive and efficient.
“I love how he got settled into the game. Started off being very aggressive early, getting downhill, attacking the basket,” Mosley said about Banchero’s performance. “When he's open, stepping into a shot, finding guys, knowing how they were guarding him."
“I thought he did a great job finding teammates. But just overall, our team, I think we just did a very good job of trusting our defense to lead to our offense.”
Another impactful player in Orlando’s win was Jevon Carter, who received his first meaningful minutes in a Magic uniform since the team signed him following the Feb. 5 trade deadline. In 23 minutes of action, Carter scored 14 points while shooting over 60% from the field.
“He's about the right things,” Mosley said. “He's about winning, he's about team, he's about playing the right way. And you saw as soon as he stepped on the court, it was picking up full court, talking in the huddles, getting guys in the right spots, stepping in with confidence to a shot."
“But again, he's about all the right things. He's about winning. He's about toughness. He fits exactly what we do here with the Magic.”