An outstanding Franz Wagner has Orlando Magic led to a difficult mandatory victory against the problem child of the NBA.
The German world champion scored 111:99 Detroit Pistons 38 points, equaling his career best from December 2021. The 22-year-old equaled his highest point total in the best league in the world in his third year.
“Franz was incredible“, enthused his coach Jamahl Mosley. “He scored 38 points without shooting a free throw. That’s impressive. That’s the highest level.” The Berlin native was unstoppable, especially after the break. “I had a good rhythm”he explained his top performance.
Praise from the opposing coach too
27 of his 38 points came in the third and fourth quarters. “He’s a very efficient role player just because of his size and he has good feel”Pistons coach Monty Williams also recognized Wagner’s performance.
Orlando remains in the race for the direct play-off places, but the performance against the league’s weakest team was only confident at times.
Moritz Wagner at least scores ten points
Magic are seventh in the Eastern Conference with 27 wins and 23 defeats, just behind the Indiana Pacers in sixth place, which would still entitle them to participate directly in the championship round.
As usual, Moritz Wagner came off the bench, but made a valuable contribution with ten points, five rebounds and four assists.
Daniel Theis pauses
Daniel Theis was also able to be happy about at least one success, the center scored 103:95 Los Angeles Clippers both Miami Heat but not for use.
The Clippers are third in the Western Conference and are clearly on course for the playoffs.
Dennis Schröder loses
Completely different than that Toronto Raptors. The team led by national team captain Dennis Schröder lost Oklahoma City Thunder Despite a temporary 23-point lead, the score was still 127:135 after double overtime.
Schröder scored 19 points. However, his shooting rate could be improved with only five of 16 attempts from close range. The Raptors are already five wins behind tenth place in the East, which is enough to qualify for the play-in tournament.