Beede’s Breakdown: How Magic captured third straight road win at Detroit

Franz Wagner tied a career-high with 38 points as he and Paolo Banchero (20) guided the Magic to their third straight win at Detroit on Sunday.

Orlando scored 62 points in the paint to capture the 111-99 victory over the Pistons (6-43), who had six scorers finish in double figures.

Coach Jamahl Mosley’s squad improved to 13-1 when allowing fewer than 100 points this season and 22-1 when leading (or tied) after the third quarter.

The Magic (27-23) wrap up their five-game trip Tuesday night at Miami (Bally Sports Florida, 7:30).

Starting 5

Mosley stuck with the same starting lineup — guards Markelle Fultz and Jalen Suggs plus forwards Wagner and Banchero along with center Wendell Carter Jr. — for the third straight game.

Banchero and Wagner did most of the scoring by accounting for 52% of Orlando’s 111 points against the Pistons.

Wagner specifically benefited off the attention that Banchero attracted from Detroit’s defense. Three of Wagner’s 3-pointers, including a pair in the fourth, came off assists from Banchero.

The newly named All-Star still helped create his own shot early in the game during a stretch when the Magic’s offense failed to take care of the ball.  Orlando turned the ball over 7 times in the first half.

Banchero’s pair of triples came in the second quarter when he scored 12 points before the break.

Suggs led the team with 9 points in the opening frame but failed to score again. He offered Orlando strong defense with 2 steals and a block to go with 5 rebounds.

Carter was careless with the ball early when he turned it over three times in his first 7 minutes on the floor. He didn’t record another turnover the rest of the game while scoring 7 points on 3-of-4 shooting with 4 rebounds.

Second Unit

Mosley relied on a 10-man rotation for most of the night as guards Cole Anthony and Gary Harris plus big men Joe Ingles, Moe Wagner and Jonathan Isaac came off the bench.

Rookie guard Anthony Black briefly saw the court in the first half as well.

For the second game in a row, the Magic’s bench was outscored as Detroit’s bench held a 37-29 advantage. Moe Wagner and Harris each totaled 10 points, which made up most of the reserve scoring for Orlando.

Wagner was perfect (5 of 5 shooting) from the field and added 5 rebounds with 4 assists.

In his second game back after missing 14 due to a right calf strain, Harris sank two 3-pointers on five attempts, which is a positive sign for the veteran guard as he continues to progress.

Although Isaac finished with just 5 points, he played the entire fourth quarter for the second consecutive contest. In 21 minutes, he recorded the bench’s best plus-minus rating (plus-9) while totaling 6 rebounds, a block and a steal.

Rookie Watch

Black played only the final 19.9 seconds of the second quarter for the team’s final defensive possession.

The No. 6 overall pick has seen his time on the court drop after Harris returned to Orlando’s rotation last game.

Still, Black’s length as a defender will allow him to be used by Mosley in the second half of the season after he made 29 starts in place of Fultz, who missed more than two months due to left knee tendinitis.

Email Jason Beede at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on X, known as Twitter, at @therealBeede.