FILE–Wendell Carter Jr. #34 of the Orlando Magic. Michael Reaves/Getty Images/AFP
Wendell Carter Jr. closed out a 14-point, 14-rebound performance with a tip-in at the buzzer to elevate the host Orlando Magic to a 108-106 win over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday in the first game back from the All-Star break for both teams.
Carter’s game-winning basket — initially negated for offensive goaltending before the call was overruled on video review — came after Paolo Banchero’s driving attempt to break a 106-106 stalemate was unsuccessful.
Banchero finished with 11 points, almost nine fewer than his team-leading season average, on 4-of-13 shooting from the floor. His struggles were reflective of collective shooting woes for the Magic, who hit just 41.1 percent of their field-goal attempts for the game.
Still, seven Orlando players scored in double figures, led by Franz Wagner’s 21 points. Markelle Fultz scored 14 points and dished a game-high eight assists, Gary Harris scored 12 points, and Cole Anthony (15) and Jonathan Isaac (10) contributed off the bench.
Wendell Carter Jr. putback for the win! ???????? pic.twitter.com/1n0HQmltOO
— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 24, 2023
On the other end of the floor, the Pistons shot 45.7 percent from the floor but committed 21 turnovers.
Orlando also benefited from missed free throws — two specifically.
Detroit shot 15 of 19 from the charity stripe, but Jaden Ivey — who led all scorers with 25 points — missed a pair of foul shots with 50.9 seconds remaining that would have pulled the Pistons within a point.
Maintaining their three-point cushion proved pivotal for the Magic. Detroit’s James Wiseman sank a hook shot, but Wagner answered with a pair of free throws with 8.7 seconds left preceding a game-tying 3-pointer from Ivey with 5.2 seconds remaining, setting the scene for the decisive sequence.
Wiseman finished with eight points, contributing to Detroit’s 50-36 advantage in bench points. Alec Burks scored 16 points in reserve duty, sub Hamidou Diallo and Killian Hayes added 12 apiece and Isaiah Stewart contributed 10.
Wiseman grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds while Stewart had eight boards.
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