The Orlando Magic dropped to 1–1 on the young season after falling 111–107 to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night at the Kia Center. Despite another strong individual performance from Franz Wagner, turnovers and missed free throws proved costly in the team’s first loss of the year.
Wagner led the Magic with 27 points, six rebounds, two assists, and a steal while shooting 10-for-17 from the field, 2-for-5 from beyond the arc, and 5-for-6 from the free throw line in 35 minutes. However, his postgame remarks reflected frustration over the team’s self-inflicted mistakes.
“Yeah, it hurts a lot,” Wagner said. “I feel like we kinda beat ourselves — not to take credit away from Atlanta, but I think a lot of mistakes we made are self-inflicted and we gotta clean those up.”
Franz Wagner, Jamahl Mosley cite turnovers and missed free throws as key factors in loss to Hawks
The 24-year-old forward, now in his fifth NBA season, also noted the team’s struggles to maintain offensive rhythm late in the game.
“I think you're going to have lows,” Wagner said. “I honestly thought going into that third quarter when they made a run, we got some really good looks, we just didn’t make them and then we stalled out a little bit in the fourth. Just finding the next action and playing quicker in the halfcourt as well. It’s not going to be fast like that especially towards the end of the game, so that’s when executing in the halfcourt becomes more important.”
The Magic’s offensive miscues were glaring. Orlando committed 22 turnovers, which the Hawks converted into 20 points. Meanwhile, the Magic missed 13 free throws, finishing 24-of-37 from the line. Those missed opportunities ultimately kept the game within reach for Atlanta, which hit 21-of-28 from the stripe.
Head coach Jamahl Mosley echoed Wagner’s assessment, emphasizing that the missed free throws shifted the game’s momentum.
“I think that was it,” Mosley said. “You get to the free throw line 37 times, go 24-for-37, you don’t give yourself a chance there. Those are opportunities that can kind of break the back of the opponent when you knock them down — it goes from a 10-point lead to possibly a 15-point lead, but when you miss them they have the opportunity to come back down the stretch.”
Mosley urges Magic to tighten defense as Wagner’s strong start continues
Defensively, Orlando also had difficulties containing Atlanta’s penetration. The Hawks scored 58 points in the paint and took advantage of gaps in the Magic’s rotations, particularly during second-chance and transition opportunities.
“We’ve got to sit down and guard our yard,” Mosley said. “Understanding who we’re closing out to, them attacking the middle of the floor — we’ve got to be better there. Just closing off gaps and showing early help, then getting out.”
Wagner’s consistency, however, continued to stand out through two games. He is averaging 25.5 points, five rebounds, and four assists while shooting 55.9% from the field and 40% from three. Mosley praised Wagner’s assertiveness on both ends.
“Just a pure level of aggression,” Mosley said. “Getting out in transition, getting some early easy baskets — make or miss, looking to get out and run, just putting pressure on the defense, getting to the paint, touching the paint, and then being able to make a play from there.”
The Magic will look to regroup quickly as they host the Chicago Bulls (1–0) on Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET to wrap up their three-game homestand. After two competitive outings, Orlando’s next test will be sustaining its early-season momentum while limiting the costly mistakes that defined Friday’s loss.
