NBA: Magic storm past Spurs with big second half
FILE – Cole Anthony #50 of the Orlando Magic in action against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on December 21, 2022 in Houston, Texas. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP
Cole Anthony tallied 23 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists off the bench as the Orlando Magic roared from behind and ran away with a 133-113 victory over the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Friday to win for the eighth time in nine games.
The game was tied at halftime before Orlando ended the third quarter with a 20-8 run that erased San Antonio’s seven-point lead and produced a 94-89 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Anthony hit a 3-pointer and Mo Bamba canned back-to-back-to-back shots from behind the arc to push the Magic’s lead to 108-93 with 9:24 to play.
Article continues after this advertisementfor the coleture
16 PTS in 20 MIn for @The_ColeAnthony pic.twitter.com/TIUpvnv5XN
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) December 24, 2022
Orlando went on to go up by as many as 26 points while hitting its first eight 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and waltzed to the finish line. The Magic had a season-high 30 assists.
Franz Wagner added 21 for the Magic, with Paolo Banchero scoring 18, Moritz Wagner hitting for 17 and Bol Bol racking up 14 points.
Article continues after this advertisementfranz boogie for three from brother moe @franzboogie + @moritz_weasley pic.twitter.com/2h5nIxAeHd
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) December 24, 2022
Wendell Carter Jr. (right foot injury) and Gary Harris (right hamstring) were back on the floor for the Magic. Carter, who had missed 17 straight games, had eight points in 19 minutes while Harris, who had not played since Nov. 30, added nine points.
Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with 17 points while Tre Jones added 16, Devin Vassell had 14 and Jeremy Sochan and Doug McDermott had 13 points apiece. San Antonio has dropped four of its past five games.
The Magic led for the majority of the first quarter, getting 12 points from Bol in the period on the way to a 34-28 lead after the first 12 minutes of play.
San Antonio tied the game at 42-42 on a dunk by Jakob Poeltl at the 8:16 mark of the second quarter and swept to a 52-44 advantage after a pair of free throws by Johnson with 5:07 to play in the half. The Spurs led by as many as nine points before Orlando finished the half with a 9-0 run to tie the game at 61-61 at the break.
Bol led all scorers with 14 points before halftime and Banchero hit for 11 for the Magic. Johnson had 13 to lead San Antonio while Jones added 11.
