The Magic had returned to the locker room at +4 (58-54) while the Heat were preparing to pay tribute to Pat Riley at halftime. But Paolo Banchero and his teammates changed gear in the third quarter…
Because 2 minutes and 42 seconds from the end of the period, the gap had reached +28 (92-64) for Orlando!
“It’s fun, making stops like that, possession after possession. That leads to counter-attacks, 3-pointers, baskets. I don't know how many we made (stops) in a row, but it was crazy. It was natural. In the first half, there were some communication problems and they were able to score on certain sequences. In the second half, we knew that they were going to launch their systems, but that if we stayed in front of them, if we forced them to play one-on-one, they were going to have difficulty scoring. commented Paolo Banchero.
The main driving force behind this big run, the former Rookie of the Year finished the game with 33 points on 12/24 shooting, 11 rebounds and 3 assists (including a superb one for Franz Wagner) and an impressive +/- of +42 in 31 minutes.
The tone is set
Opposite, the Jimmy Butler – Bam Adebayo tandem combined 12 points at 2/13 shooting, unable to overtake the solid Magic defenders. Erik Spoelstra asked his players to trust the principles worked on in preseason, while praising the defensive performance of this Orlando team, which continues to progress.
“It was fun. It was almost 'run and gun', it was 'stop and run'.” jokes Paolo Banchero, the Magic wishing to build its success through its defense, which brings fast play and easy baskets.
“It sets the tone for what this team wants to put in place. Goga (Bitadze) told us before the match that we talked a lot about what we wanted to do, and that it was time to show it. And that's our mentality. »
Moreover, despite the cumulative 0/10 of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Cole Anthony from afar, the All Star praised the 3-point performance of his team (18/49), behind the 6/9 of Gary Harris in the domain. An important element for the Magic, while opponents were able to slow down its attack last year with stalemates.
| Paolo Banchero | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2022-23 | ENT | 72 | 34 | 42.7 | 29.8 | 73.8 | 1.2 | 5.7 | 6.9 | 3.7 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 20.0 |
| 2023-24 | ENT | 80 | 35 | 45.5 | 33.9 | 72.5 | 1.0 | 5.9 | 6.9 | 5.4 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 0.6 | 22.6 |
| Total | 152 | 34 | 44.2 | 32.1 | 73.1 | 1.1 | 5.8 | 6.9 | 4.6 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 2.9 | 0.6 | 21.3 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
