Franz Wagner Scores 21 in the Fourth as Magic Rally Past Defending Champion Knicks 111-102 for First Win

Franz Wagner went 1 for 10 from the field through three quarters. Then he took over. Wagner scored 21 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter as the Orlando Magic, playing without injured star Paolo Banchero, rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat the defending NBA champion New York Knicks 111-102 at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night, Oct. 25.

The win was Orlando's first of the season and the first for coach Sean Sweeney, moving the Magic to 1-2. The Knicks fell to 0-3, making them the first defending champion to lose its first three games since the 2011-12 Dallas Mavericks.

Wagner's fourth-quarter takeover

The Magic dug an early hole, missing their first eight shots and falling behind 12-0. They did not score until the 7:18 mark of the first quarter, and Black, coming off the bench, scored nine of Orlando's first 13 points to steady them. Orlando spent most of the night chasing. New York led 75-71 entering the fourth quarter and pushed the margin to 86-76 on an OG Anunoby floater with 9:20 to play.

That is when Wagner, who had just two points on 1-of-10 shooting through three quarters, came alive. He scored nine points in an 11-0 Orlando run, capped by a Wagner three-point play that gave the Magic their first lead of the night, 87-86, with 7:25 remaining. Black's fifth 3-pointer pushed the lead to 98-91 with 3:22 left, and Orlando closed it out even after Black fouled out with 14.1 seconds to play. Orlando outscored New York 35-16 over the final nine-plus minutes and won the fourth quarter 40-27.

Wagner finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, one assist shy of a triple-double. The 13 rebounds were a career high. The Knicks, meanwhile, unraveled late, as Orlando's defense forced a cluster of turnovers in the final period and turned them into points.

Black, who had a front-row view of the comeback, said the game had not gone Wagner's way for most of the night. "He turned it up in the fourth quarter," Black said, according to Yahoo Sports.

Black, Bane and the bench step up

With Banchero sidelined, Orlando needed scoring from across the roster, and it got it. Anthony Black, who missed the first two games with an ankle injury, scored 18 points with five assists in his season debut after recovering from a right ankle sprain. He was a team-best plus-21 in 26 minutes, a number Wagner singled out afterward. "He was amazing," Wagner said of Black. Desmond Bane added 22 points and went 4 of 9 from 3-point range. Tristan da Silva scored 19 points off the bench in 26 minutes, a bounce-back after a 1-of-7 night against Minnesota on Friday, and he and Black each made five 3-pointers. Jase Richardson made his first NBA start in Banchero's place and hit two 3-pointers in 17 minutes.

The Magic shot 43% from beyond the arc and got 47 points from their bench. New York's reserves managed just 11, and the Knicks went 9 of 38 from 3-point range. Orlando was not clean, committing 15 turnovers and allowing 12 offensive rebounds, according to the Orlando Sentinel's Jason Beede.

"I thought the toughness and the resolve was great," Sweeney said. Of Black, he added: "Anthony definitely brought a spark." Wagner called the win "big time for us" and said it felt good to get the first one of the season.

The key individual lines:

Knicks' slow start continues

Jalen Brunson led New York with 28 points but needed 28 shots to get there, going 12 of 28 from the field, 1 of 7 from 3-point range and 3 of 6 at the free-throw line. Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Anunoby scored 22, including 10 in the fourth quarter.

As a team, the Knicks shot 23.7% from 3-point range. They were also short-handed in the backcourt, with Jose Alvarado sitting out with a sprained ankle. The loss followed defeats to Philadelphia and Boston to open the season. Anunoby pointed to "some miscommunications, transition opportunities, some fouls" as reasons the lead slipped away, according to postgame reports. Knicks coach Mike Brown said afterward that his starting five is set but that playing time for everyone else will depend on performance and effort.

Injury worries for Orlando

The celebration came with a scare. Guard Jalen Suggs went down with an apparent non-contact knee injury while driving to the basket late in the fourth quarter. He stayed under the basket in pain before being helped to the locker room and did not return. Sweeney said Suggs was in good spirits and would be evaluated Monday.

Wagner said it was tough to see a teammate go down and that he did not yet know the extent of the injury. Suggs had four points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals in 34 minutes before leaving.

Suggs played in 57 games last season, averaging 13.8 points and 5.5 assists, and any extended absence would come on top of Banchero's injury. Orlando's leading scorer suffered a low-grade right high ankle sprain in Friday's 115-93 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, getting hurt in the first half and leaving for good in the third quarter after posting 14 points, six rebounds and five assists. An MRI confirmed the sprain, and he did not make the trip to New York, according to the Orlando Sentinel. ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the injury typically means a four-to-six-week absence.

What it means for the Magic

For a Central Florida team that has built its identity around Banchero and Wagner, Sunday offered evidence that Orlando can win without its top scorer. It also showed how thin the margin is. The Magic needed a huge fourth quarter from Wagner, a strong return from Black and a hot night from the bench to overcome a slow start against a Knicks team still looking for its footing.

What's next

The Magic continue their road trip with two games in Toronto against the Raptors, on Wednesday and Friday, both at 7:30 p.m. ET. The results of Suggs' evaluation will likely shape the rotation. The Knicks host the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday as they try to avoid falling to 0-4.