Banchero scores 30 as Magic cruise past Wizards

WASHINGTON (AP) — Paolo Banchero scored 30 points and the Orlando Magic eased to a 120-105 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.

Wendell Carter Jr. had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Franz Wagner added 21 points for the Magic, who have now alternated wins and losses over their last seven games.

Orlando began the night in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, 1 1/2 games behind Atlanta and two in front of Chicago in the battle for NBA play-in tournament seeding.

Alex Sarr scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Washington, which lost its third straight. Jordan Poole added 18 points for the Wizards, who did not hold a lead beyond the midpoint of the first quarter.

Takeaways

Magic: Orlando may only be on the fringe of the East playoff picture, but it has dominated NBA-worst Washington in all three meetings this season, sweeping the contests by a combined 62-point margin.

Wizards: Sarr, the second overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft, recorded his ninth double-double, with seven of those coming since the beginning of 2025. Tristan Vukcevic scored 17 points in 21 minutes off the bench, many of those played late after both teams had removed their starters.

Key moment

The Magic ran off a 13-0 run early in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. Wagner, Carter and Cory Joseph all hit 3s during the run, and Wagner followed with a runner that completed the stretch to give Orlando a 88-62 lead.

Key Stat

The Magic outrebounded the Wizards 55-41, part of the reason they attempted nine more field goals over the course of the night.

Up next

The Wizards visit New York on Saturday, while the Magic host the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba