Nov. 3: Magic 130, Warriors 129
The Magic had one of their better shooting performances with the defending NBA champion Warriors in town. They made 53.8 percent of their floor shots overall and 43.3 percent of their 3-point attempts. Down the stretch, several Magic players made big shots, such as Jalen Suggs, who hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final two minutes including a go-ahead one with 37 seconds left.
Nov. 9: Magic 94, Mavs 87
Very few teams ever have any luck containing Luka Doncic. The Magic, at least for this one night, did. The three-time NBA All-Star and current MVP candidate made only nine of his 29 floor shots, including two of his 11 from beyond the arc. Dallas, as a team, shot just 37.6 percent from the field and 26.2 percent from 3-point territory.
Nov. 11: Magic 114, Suns 97
The very next game, the Magic denied another perennial All-Star from getting into an effective rhythm. Devin Booker scored just 17 points on 6-of-19 overall shooting and 2-of-8 3-point shooting. Orlando also limited Phoenix to only nine free throw attempts, tied for the lowest number of tries by a Magic opponent this season.
Nov. 18: Magic 108, Bulls 107
This game featured one of the most exciting finishes in franchise history. The Magic were down four with under 30 seconds left after Chicago’s Javonte Green connected on two straight shots at the basket. Suggs took over from there. First, the 6-foot-5 guard knocked down a pair of free throws to slice the deficit in half. And then, after former Magic player Nikola Vucevic missed both of his foul shots, Suggs raced down the court and sank a game-winning step-back 3-pointer from the right wing with 4.1 seconds left.
Dec. 7: Magic 116, Clippers 111 (OT)
This was the game that started the hot stretch of eight wins in a nine-game span in December. Orlando, down as many as 18 at one point, rallied back to force overtime. Paolo Banchero scored 10 of his 23 points in the extra session, including six from the free throw line in the closing seconds. In the fourth quarter, L.A. made only eight of their 24 shots overall and two of their 10 3-point tries.
Dec. 9: Magic 113, Raptors 109
This was the Magic’s best shooting game in about 2 ½ years. They made 59.2 percent of their field goal attempts. The last time they shot it better was on March 6, 2020 against the Timberwolves when they shot 60.7 percent. Franz Wagner erupted for a season-best 34 points in what was the first of two straight victories for Orlando over the Raptors at Amway Center.
Dec. 18: Magic 95, Celtics 92
Arguably their best defensive effort of the season, the Magic held the Celtics, who were then and still are the best offensive team in the league, to just 34.8 percent overall shooting and 25.5 percent 3-point shooting. To date this season, that was Boston’s worst shooting performance. The biggest play of the game was when Markelle Fultz, with Orlando up one, stole an inbounds pass with just under 10 seconds left. This was the second of two straight victories for the Magic in Boston.
Jan. 7: Magic 115, Warriors 101
The Magic ended their nine-game drought in Golden State playing their A-game on both ends of the floor. They held the Warriors to just 37.5 percent overall shooting and 31 percent 3-point shooting. Meanwhile, offensively, they connected on 50.6 percent of their floor shots, including 40.6 percent of their threes. It is important to note, though, that neither Steph Curry nor Klay Thompson played in this game.