Magic Lose Third Straight as Booker Scores 30, Suns Turn 25 Turnovers Into 117-104 Win

Devin Booker scored 30 points, Dillon Brooks added 24 and the Phoenix Suns turned 25 Orlando turnovers into 36 points on the way to a 117-104 win over the Magic on Thursday night at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix. The loss was Orlando's third in a row and dropped the short-handed Magic to 2-6 to open the season, while Phoenix snapped a four-game losing streak and improved to 2-5.

Wendell Carter Jr. was the bright spot for Orlando, scoring 27 points on 10-of-12 shooting with 13 rebounds. Franz Wagner handed out 15 assists to go with 15 points, and Tristan da Silva scored 18 off the bench. None of it was enough to offset a night in which the Magic gave the ball away 25 times, trailed by as many as 30 points and never seriously threatened after halftime.

How the game unfolded

Phoenix controlled most of the first half, and Booker capped it with a 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer that sent the Suns to the locker room up 63-51. Booker had 23 points in the first half on 8-of-13 shooting, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range, according to The Associated Press recap of the game. Carter kept Orlando within reach early with 13 points and eight rebounds before the break.

The third quarter decided it. Booker and Brooks hit back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the period to stretch the lead to 78-60, and Phoenix took a 96-73 advantage into the fourth. Collin Gillespie's 3-pointer with 9:20 remaining gave the Suns their largest lead of the night at 30 points. Orlando won the fourth quarter 31-21 once the outcome was settled, which trimmed the final margin to 13.

The quarter-by-quarter scoring, from the ESPN box score, shows where the game got away:

Turnovers undo a strong night on the glass

By most physical measures, Orlando held its own. The Magic outrebounded Phoenix 48-33, grabbed 15 offensive rebounds to the Suns' six and scored 48 points in the paint to Phoenix's 40. They also shot 48 percent from the floor, not far off the Suns' 52 percent.

The difference was ball security and shooting at the edges of the court. Orlando's 25 turnovers produced 36 Phoenix points, while the Suns committed 14 turnovers that the Magic converted into 22 points. Phoenix also recorded 14 steals. Wagner, who led both teams in assists, had six of Orlando's turnovers to go with his 15 assists, and Anthony Black had five.

The Suns made 17 of 34 3-point attempts, a 50 percent clip, with Booker and Brooks each hitting four. Orlando made 13 of 38 from deep, and da Silva accounted for 12 of those attempts on his own, making four. The Magic also struggled at the free-throw line, making just 13 of 24 attempts. Wagner went 1 for 4 and Goga Bitadze missed all four of his tries.

Carter carries the frontcourt load

Carter missed only two shots all night. He made both of his 3-point attempts, went 5 of 6 from the line and added four offensive rebounds in 34 minutes. His expanded scoring role has been a theme of the young season, with Orlando playing without its leading scorer.

Desmond Bane added 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting with six rebounds. Black finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Jase Richardson, in the starting lineup, scored 10 points with two blocks and two steals. Jamal Cain scored five points off the bench on 2-of-9 shooting.

For Phoenix, Booker finished 11 of 22 from the floor with eight assists and three steals. Brooks shot 9 of 16, and Miles Bridges posted 18 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. Luke Kennard scored 12 off the bench and Ryan Dunn added 11. The announced attendance was 17,071.

A depleted roster

Orlando was again without several regulars. Paolo Banchero has been out since spraining his right ankle in the Oct. 23 home loss to Minnesota. The Magic announced an MRI showed a low-grade right high ankle sprain, and ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the injury typically takes four to six weeks to heal, according to Yahoo Sports. Jalen Suggs (knee), Jonathan Isaac (knee) and Noah Penda (hamstring) were also listed as out on ESPN's injury report for the game.

Without Banchero and Suggs, first-year coach Sean Sweeney has leaned on Wagner to run the offense and on Carter and Bane to supply scoring. The results have been uneven, particularly at Kia Center, where Orlando has yet to win this season.

The Magic's season so far

Orlando has played eight games, and its two wins have both come on the road. The Magic's results to date, from ESPN's schedule:

The current skid began with the home loss to Boston and continued a night later against Washington, when Anthony Davis and AJ Dybantsa led the Wizards to a 103-94 win in Orlando. Thursday's defeat in Phoenix opened a four-game Western road trip.

Phoenix's side of it

For the Suns, the win came one night after a home loss to Portland and left them 1-1 on a season-long seven-game homestand, according to the AP. Phoenix had dropped four straight before Thursday. The Suns lead the two-game season series 1-0, with the rematch to be played in Orlando later this season.

What's next

The Magic continue the trip on Saturday night at Golden State, with tipoff set for 8:30 p.m. Eastern at Chase Center. Orlando then visits Sacramento on Tuesday and Utah on Wednesday before returning home to face Milwaukee at Kia Center on Friday, Nov. 13. Central Florida fans hoping for a turnaround will be watching two things closely: whether the Magic can cut down on giveaways, and whether there is any update on Banchero's timeline as the four-to-six-week window reported after his injury approaches.