Timberwolves Dominate the Glass, Rout Magic 115-93 at Kia Center as Orlando Falls to 0-2

The Orlando Magic are still looking for the first win of the Sean Sweeney era. The Minnesota Timberwolves never trailed Friday night at Kia Center, outworked Orlando on the boards and pulled away in the third quarter for a 115-93 win that dropped the Magic to 0-2.

Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels each scored 15 points for Minnesota, Rudy Gobert added 14 points and nine rebounds, and seven Timberwolves finished in double figures. Wendell Carter Jr. led Orlando with 20 points and nine rebounds, and Franz Wagner scored 18. The loss followed a 132-125 home defeat to the Atlanta Hawks in Wednesday's opener, Sweeney's first game as Orlando's head coach, when Paolo Banchero had 35 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.

Minnesota's Florida sweep

Minnesota opened its season with two games in Florida and won both. The Timberwolves beat the Miami Heat 131-106 at Kaseya Center on Wednesday behind 45 points from Edwards, then came to Orlando two nights later and won by 22. According to The Associated Press, Minnesota is off to its best start since it won its first two games five years ago.

Edwards did not need another big scoring night. Fresh off his 45-point game in Miami, he made a 3-pointer for his first points and then missed his next 10 field-goal attempts, according to the AP. He finished 5 of 23 from the floor and 2 of 9 from 3-point range, though he added four rebounds, four assists and four steals and was a plus-19 in 33 minutes.

Seven Timberwolves in double figures

With Edwards misfiring, Minnesota spread the scoring across its roster. McDaniels made 6 of 14 shots and added six rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Gobert made 6 of 8 from the field. Jonathan Kuminga had 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and LaMelo Ball scored 12 points with five rebounds, five assists and two steals in 23 minutes before sitting for most of the fourth quarter.

That balance, combined with Minnesota's size, left Orlando chasing all night. The Timberwolves also held a 14-5 edge in fast-break points before a crowd of 19,551.

The rebounding gap

The difference was on the glass. Minnesota finished with 61 rebounds to Orlando's 43 in the ESPN box score, including 22 offensive rebounds to the Magic's eight. The AP reported that the offensive rebounding edge produced 17 second-chance points and that Orlando went the first 19 minutes of the game without an offensive rebound of its own.

Minnesota's bench drove much of that work. Center Joan Beringer grabbed nine rebounds, seven of them offensive, in 15 minutes. Ayo Dosunmu had 14 points, seven rebounds and nine assists off the bench, and Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 13 on 4-of-6 shooting.

The Timberwolves did not shoot especially well. They made 42 of 98 field goals, 43 percent, and only 17 of 30 free throws. But the extra possessions gave them 98 shots to Orlando's 84, and the Magic never found a way to close the gap.

How the game got away

The Magic's offense sputtered from the opening tip. WFTV reported that Orlando started 2 of 10 from the field in the first six minutes, and Minnesota led 26-20 after one quarter and 57-45 at halftime.

The third quarter decided it. Minnesota outscored Orlando 29-15 in the period, and WFTV reported the Magic went 6 of 20 from the field in the quarter. The Timberwolves carried an 86-60 lead, their largest of the night at 26 points, into the fourth quarter, and Minnesota coach Chris Finch rested most of his starters, including LaMelo Ball, for the bulk of the final period, according to the AP.

The scoring by quarter:

Orlando's 3-point problem

The Magic made 37 of 84 shots overall, 44 percent, and actually outscored Minnesota 54-46 in the paint. The damage came from the perimeter, where Orlando made just 8 of 39 3-point attempts, 20.5 percent. Wagner went 1 for 6 from deep and Desmond Bane 1 for 9, a combined 2 for 15. Bane finished with five points on 2-of-11 shooting, and Tristan da Silva made 2 of 9 shots off the bench.

Orlando also committed 16 turnovers to Minnesota's 12, with Wagner accounting for six, and made just 11 of 19 free throws.

Carter was the exception. He made 8 of 9 shots, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range, in 29 minutes. Jalen Suggs added 14 points, six rebounds and six assists.

Banchero's ankle

The more worrying development for Orlando may have been Banchero's right ankle. He was hurt early in the third quarter after landing awkwardly while going for a rebound with Suggs, according to USA Today's report, returned to action, and then sat out the fourth quarter with what the team called right ankle soreness. He finished with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting, six rebounds and five assists in 26 minutes.

Sweeney did not offer much of an update after the game beyond saying Banchero would continue to be evaluated, according to reports. ESPN listed Banchero as day-to-day after the game, along with Jonathan Isaac and Anthony Black.

Two games into the Sweeney era

Orlando has now allowed 132 and 115 points in its first two games, and the second loss raised different questions than the first. Against Atlanta, the Magic scored 125 points behind Banchero's 35 and lost a shootout. Against Minnesota, they scored 93, shot poorly from distance and were pushed around on the boards.

The fourth quarter, played largely against Minnesota's reserves, offered little to take from the night. Orlando won the period 33-29, with Colin Castleton scoring seven points on 3-of-3 shooting in four minutes and Jase Richardson adding six points and three assists in 14 minutes.

The Magic also played short-handed. Beyond the day-to-day designations for Banchero, Isaac and Black, ESPN listed Noah Penda as out.

What's next

The Magic leave Central Florida for their first road games of the season, beginning with the defending NBA champion New York Knicks, who are also 0-2 after a 107-103 loss at Boston on Friday:

Minnesota returns home to host the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. The Magic and Timberwolves meet again March 26 in Minneapolis, with Minnesota leading the two-game season series 1-0.