Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner masterpieces earn Luka Doncic truth bomb

03/25/2025 01:03 PM

The Orlando Magic earned their second straight victory on Monday night, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 118-106 behind standout performances from Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. The duo combined for 62 points and led a dominant third quarter that propelled the Magic past a Lakers team featuring newly acquired guard Luka Doncic.

Doncic, who nearly recorded a triple-double with 32 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and a steal, took time postgame to praise Orlando's two young stars.

"They're both great players, that's the first thing that makes them special," Doncic said. "They [are] young and you know this team is built around them and obviously, you saw how at the start of the season they had some bad luck with injuries… but this team is built around those two and just trying to stop them is very hard. They can do a little bit of everything and those two are special players in this league."

Luka Doncic called Magic duo of Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero "special". Doncic added that the Magic are built around the duo making trying to stop them hard. "They can do a little bit of everything, those two are special players in this league."

Question via @AdamKofflerpic.twitter.com/Qul53BF5qv

— Fawzan Amer (@FAmer__) March 25, 2025

Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero outshine Luka Doncic as Magic surge past Lakers

Wagner led all scorers with 32 points to go along with nine assists, five rebounds and a steal, shooting 13-for-26 from the field. Banchero added 30 points, seven rebounds, an assist and a block, shooting nine-for-17 from the field and 10-for-12 from the free throw line.

The Magic trailed the Lakers 60-58 at halftime after cutting into a nine-point deficit late in the second quarter. Coming out of the break, Orlando delivered its most dominant stretch of the night, outscoring the Lakers 34-18 in the third quarter. The run gave the Magic a 92-78 lead entering the fourth and saw them build a lead as large as 17 points. Orlando shot 63.2 percent in the period while holding Los Angeles to 42.2 percent.

"Honestly, I thought our effort all game was pretty solid," Wagner said. "First half, I think they got too many free throws and in the second half, once we kept them in the half court, stopped fouling – not all game, I thought we had a great pace on offense. I think that's when we went on a bigger run and I found some really good looks."

Banchero reflected on the team's improved focus, noting how rare it had been for Orlando to secure back-to-back wins in recent months.

"Yeah, I think we were just locked in from start to finish," Banchero said. "We knew this was gonna be a big game for us obviously, we knew also that we haven't won two games in a row in a long time so… we said that we gotta get this one and just happy with everybody's focus and effort."

Banchero, Wagner emphasize consistency after back-to-back wins

Monday's win marked Orlando's first set of consecutive victories since late December, excluding games around the All-Star break. Despite the milestone, Banchero remained focused on the next challenge.

"Oh, it don't mean nothing. Honestly, that's what we expect, we just hadn't done it, so we was hungry to do it but that doesn't matter if we go into Charlotte tomorrow and lay an egg," he said. "So, we gotta be locked in, ready to go turn it around."

Wagner echoed that sentiment, emphasizing consistency over individual results.

"Yeah, sure it can but tomorrow we got another game and start 0-0," Wagner said. "I thought overall these last couple of weeks we've been playing a lot better basketball and just kind of stretches throughout the game when we were struggling. So, I thought from that standpoint how we approached the game mentally was really good and hopefully we can replicate that tomorrow."

Magic's win over Lakers seen as potential spark for late-season playoff push

Both players also commented on what a win over a team like the Lakers means at this point in the season.

"We can play with anybody and we know that, we just hadn't been playing up to our standard for a long time," Banchero said. "Sometimes a game like this is something that can propel you to start playing better, start playing at a higher level, and so hopefully everyone realizes we're a really good team… we just have to have a certain level of focus night in and night out, we can't be relaxed. Tonight nobody was relaxed, everybody was locked in on the go from the very start."

"It's just a good reminder of how good we can be," Wagner added. "Obviously, the season a lot of ups and downs with a lot of injuries and stuff like that but this is our situation now and I think we got 10 games left and hopefully we can play in the playoffs again this year – it was a lot of fun last year and I think everybody's eager to get back."

The Magic improved to 35-38 with the victory. They will travel to Charlotte on Tuesday to face the Hornets (18-53) in the final meeting of their season series, aiming to complete a sweep. Orlando won the previous matchup before the All-Star break, with Banchero leading the team with 24 points and six assists.

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