The Orlando Magic suffered a gut punch in a 113-110 double overtime loss to the Phoenix Suns on Saturday thanks to a buzzer beater by Jalen Green. 

Magic forward Paolo Banchero guarded the inbound pass from Royce O’ Neal when the latter found Green. Green faded away into the corner and took the shot over the outstretched hand of Anthony Black — all Banchero could do was watch. 

“I was on the ball,” Banchero said. I was focused on guarding the inbounder. I didn't really see too much; just turned my head and the ball was in the air.” 

The crowd inside the Mortgage Matchup Center erupted as Green’s teammates and the court side crowd flooded him with celebration. The game was lost on that shot but more went into the Magic falling short.  

Phoenix crushed Orlando on the offensive glass by securing 22 rebounds to the Magic’s 10. Those 22 rebounds turned into 23 second chance points. Additionally, the Magic also surrendered 16 turnovers that the Suns converted into 22 points. 

“Definitely hurt us,” Banchero said. “We knew coming in that they were a big second chance points team and that they crashed the glass pretty hard. And yeah, they did a good job of that, got themselves a lot of extra possessions.” 

“A lot of dagger threes off offensive rebounds. “So, it definitely hurt us.” 

Both teams entered the contest shorthanded, with notable absences being Devin Booker for the Suns and Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs for the Magic. The lack of depth made the task more difficult, especially when Desmond Bane, who scored 34 points in an ultra-efficient shooting night, fouled out shortly into the first overtime period. 

“I mean, not ideal, but thought we played hard,” Banchero said about the heavy minutes his team had to play. “I just think we didn't make enough plays down the stretch. They made a couple more than we did and yeah, definitely stings a little bit, just [a] tough game.” 

Despite not producing an efficient shooting performance and having six turnovers, Banchero remained aggressive throughout the game. All told, he finished with 26 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists, which the Magic needed to remain competitive in the face of being shorthanded. 

“Yeah, just trying to be aggressive. Thought I tried to create contact; I don't think I got the calls that I was looking for a lot of the time down there, but I think the refs were pretty consistent with letting both teams play, so I can't really be too upset with it. They let both teams play pretty much the whole game” 

The Magic have to bounce back from a tough loss in preparation for the second night of a back-to-back against the Los Angeles Clippers. 

“They look a little different, but I think it's gonna be a lot of emphasis on a lot of the same stuff that killed us tonight,” Banchero said about the Clippers. “Hitting the glass — they crash pretty hard — defending. 

“Yeah, just got to get ready for a challenge. They're a good team, good guys over there, so yeah, got to turn it around quickly.” 

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