The Orlando Magic delivered a statement performance out of the All-Star break, rolling to a 131-94 victory over the Sacramento Kings while setting a franchise record for 3-pointers made.
Orlando connected on 27 of its 50 attempts from beyond the arc, showcasing ball movement, spacing and confidence throughout the night. Leading the charge was Paolo Banchero, who imposed his will early and finished with 30 points, six assists, five rebounds, a steal and a block in 32 minutes. He shot 10-for-21 from the field, 5-for-7 from 3-point range and 5-for-5 from the free-throw line.
After the game, Banchero pointed to execution and trust as keys to the record-setting performance.
“Yeah, just a good, good way to start this back half of the season coming off the break setting a three point record,” Banchero said. “That’s a great sign and yeah, I think we just did a good job of like I said, finding the advantage and then playing from there and finding the open man.”
He credited the team’s decisiveness from long range.
“I think we just did a good job of making the defense have to react to what we were doing and then that leading to a guy being open, finding that guy, and then whoever that was – stepping into their shot and knocking it down with confidence,” Banchero said. “I thought guys didn’t hesitate from three today. When they’re open, guys let it fly including myself, you know, just being confident in the shot, living with the results and today they were falling at a high level.”
Paolo Banchero’s aggression, defense fuel franchise 3-point night vs. Kings
Banchero also emphasized his mindset entering the contest.
“Just trying to come out, impose my will, be aggressive,” he said. “Like you said, a lot of important games coming up so I think everybody on the team understands that just coming out, doing whatever we gotta do to win these games.”
Head coach Jamahl Mosley connected the offensive explosion to defensive intensity.
“I really think it was our defense creating some early, easy offensive looks,” Mosley said. “We were able to get downhill, attack the basket, and then we’re able to get the spray outs for feet set threes. I thought our guys did a great job of sharing it, moving it, trusting the pass and just trusting their teammates.”
Mosley credited preparation and spacing for the franchise milestone.
“I thought it was great,” he said. “I think the guys did a great job at practice yesterday, understanding the shots we were going to get versus this team. Our coaches did a great job of getting these guys set up in the right situations, the right spaces, and guys were confident and comfortable setting their feet down and being ready to knock down shots.”
Magic defense extends steals streak as West Coast trip continues
He also praised Banchero’s assertiveness.
“I love how he got settled into the game, started off being very aggressive early, getting downhill, attacking the basket when he’s open, stepping into a shot, finding guys knowing how they were guarding him,” Mosley said. “I thought he did a great job of finding teammates, but just overall our team I think we just did a very good job of trusting our defense to lead to our offense, and that was why the ball was hopping the way it was.”
The defensive pressure was evident in the box score. The Magic recorded 13 steals in Sacramento. The team’s PR account shared that it marked the fifth consecutive game Orlando registered at least 10 steals, tying for the third-longest such streak in franchise history. The longest streak of games with 10 or more steals is seven, set from Jan. 29 to Feb. 18, 1994.
The activity on that end helped fuel transition opportunities and early offense, reinforcing Mosley’s emphasis on defense generating rhythm and confidence.
With the win, Orlando improved to 29-25, moving within a half-game of the Philadelphia 76ers (30-25) for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Magic continue their West Coast trip Saturday against the Phoenix Suns (32-24) at 5:00 p.m. ET on NBA TV.
