Minnesota beat Orlando 115-93 at home, built a 26-point lead and never trailed, with zero lead changes. Wendell Carter Jr. was nearly perfect, Desmond Bane and Franz Wagner were not, and three road games come next while Paolo Banchero is listed day-to-day.
Minnesota decided it with runs Orlando never answered.
The game was tied twice and never changed hands. Minnesota opened with a 9-0 burst that forced a Sean Sweeney timeout at 11-5, then added spurts of 8-0 and 10-0 to lead 57-45 at the half. The third quarter ended it. A 12-0 run took the score from 69-57 to 81-57, Orlando lost the period 29-15, and the gap reached 26. Orlando won the fourth 33-29, but the result was already settled, and the final minutes belonged to Jevon Carter, Jase Richardson, Colin Castleton, Jamal Cain and Alex Morales.
Carter Jr. was the one starter who earned a good grade.
Wendell Carter Jr. scored 20 on 8-of-9 shooting, made 3 of 4 threes, grabbed 9 boards and blocked 2 shots, with 15 of his points in the fourth. Grade: A-minus. His -6 ranked third on the team, behind Desmond Bane at -2 and Jevon Carter at -4. Bane's number flatters him. He went 2-of-11 and 1-of-9 from three for 5 points. Grade: D. He shot 39.1 percent from deep last season, so this is one night, not a trend.
Wagner's turnovers turned the floor against Orlando.
Franz Wagner had 18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists on 7-of-14, but he also committed 6 turnovers, went 1-of-6 from three and finished -18 in 33 minutes. Grade: C. Anthony Edwards shot 5-of-23 and still finished +19, helped by 4 steals. Jalen Suggs was steadier, with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists on 6-of-12. Da Silva had the worst mark at -19 in 29 minutes, and Richardson was -18 in 14. Orlando's starters scored 71 points and its bench scored 15, while Ayo Dosunmu came off Minnesota's bench for 14 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists.
The road trip starts with the injury list loosening.
Orlando is 0-2 and 15th in the East, half a game behind Brooklyn's 0-1 for 10th and one game behind Boston's 1-1 for sixth. Sunday's game at New York opens a three-game road swing that ends with two in Toronto, the second an Emirates NBA Cup game, before Boston visits on November 1. Paolo Banchero, held to 14 points in 26 minutes, is day-to-day with a right ankle injury. Anthony Black is day-to-day with an ankle injury and Jonathan Isaac with a left knee injury. All three are projected back for October 25. Noah Penda and Izaiyah Nelson are projected to miss games until November 18. A bench that scored 15 needs Black back more than anything else.
Why did the Magic lose to the Timberwolves?
Minnesota never trailed and put together four runs of 8-0 or longer, including a 12-0 burst in the third quarter that built a 26-point lead. Orlando's bench scored only 15 points, and Franz Wagner committed 6 turnovers.
Will Paolo Banchero play against the Knicks?
Banchero is listed day-to-day with a right ankle injury and is projected back on October 25, the date of the Knicks game. His availability has not been confirmed.
