Franz Wagner matched a season high with 32 points as the visiting Orlando Magic won their sixth straight game, beating the Phoenix Suns 109-99 on Monday.
Anthony Black posted season bests of 20 points and nine assists, and Goga Bitadze had a season-high 17 points to go with 10 rebounds for Orlando, which led by as many as 19 points and held its opponent under 100 points for the sixth straight game.
Phoenix trailed 94-78 before battling back to cut the deficit to 98-91 on Devin Booker’s 3-pointer with 3:36 remaining. Orlando answered with a 7-2 run to seal the victory.
Jalen Suggs chipped in 12 points for the Magic, who improved to 2-6 on the road, compared to 7-0 at home.
The Suns played their sixth straight game without Kevin Durant and the fourth consecutive minus Bradley Beal. Both All-Stars are out with left calf strains.
Tyus Jones led Phoenix with 18 points and eight assists. Booker and Grayson Allen had 17 points apiece, Oso Ighodaro scored a career-high 12 in his first-career start, and Josh Okogie had 11.
Orlando scored the game’s first seven points and led 26-22 at the end of the first quarter.
After missing 10 of their first 11 attempts from 3-point range to start the game, the Magic made three straight triples to move ahead 45-34 with 6:03 left in the second quarter.
Wagner’s 3-pointer capped a 10-2 run and put the Magic ahead 64-48 at halftime. Wagner and Bitadze had 15 points apiece in the opening half.
Orlando extended its lead to 67-48 on Suggs’ trey early in the third quarter, and Black hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left to give the Magic an 84-68 lead at the end of the period.
Wagner has scored at least 20 points in eight straight games for Orlando, which shot 51.3 percent from the field and 11 of 29 (37.9 percent) from beyond the arc.
Mason Plumlee had 11 rebounds for the Suns, who shot 29.3 percent (12 of 41) from 3-point range.
Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. missed his eighth straight game with left foot plantar fasciitis.
–Field Level Media
