The Orlando Magic saved their best for last on Friday night, uncorking a fourth-quarter explosion that flipped the script and left the Toronto Raptors stunned. Down by 13 heading into the final frame, the Magic caught fire and never looked back, outscoring the Raptors 44-21 over the final 12 minutes to seal an emphatic comeback win.
That 44-point quarter was nearly historic-just one shy of the franchise record for most points in a fourth quarter, a mark set twice in the early ’90s. But numbers only tell part of the story. What unfolded was a team locked in, dialed up, and playing with the kind of urgency and cohesion that’s tough to match.
“I thought we were just competing,” said Desmond Bane, who led the charge with 32 points on a blistering 7-of-10 shooting from deep. “We switched everything one through five for pretty much that whole quarter.
It was like-guard your yard, take on that challenge. And you know, they say ‘party on the other end.’
That was our motto that whole fourth quarter.”
And party they did. Bane’s sharpshooting was the headliner, but this was a full-squad effort. Every Magic starter hit double figures, and four of them crossed the 20-point threshold-a feat the team hadn’t accomplished since February 2020.
Rookie guard Anthony Black showed poise beyond his years, dropping 25 points, including a perfect 14-for-14 night at the free throw line. Wendell Carter Jr. quietly dominated the paint with 23 points, while Paolo Banchero added 20 of his own, continuing to build on his growing offensive consistency.
“They were just finding each other, finding the right things,” head coach Jamahl Mosley said. “One time it was AB, one time it was Jalen, one time it was Paolo, one time it was Des.”
But Mosley made a point to spotlight Carter Jr., whose impact went well beyond the box score.
“To me, the unsung hero in this is Wendell Carter Jr.,” Mosley said. “Didn’t say a word, guarded how he needed to guard, rebounded when he needed to rebound, and then he got rewarded just for being under the basket.
He just did his job, which he does every single night consistently. And that’s what we continue to need from him.”
Carter Jr. echoed that sentiment, emphasizing a team-first mindset that’s become a hallmark of his game.
“I’m just doing what was needed to get the win,” he said. “It’s kind of been the topic-just getting back in that winning column.
Dropping two, winning two, winning one, losing one. So I just went into this game thinking, no matter if I was scoring points, getting rebounds, blocking shots, setting good screens-I’m going to do whatever is needed to get this win tonight.”
And that’s exactly what he did. His physicality in the paint and willingness to do the dirty work helped anchor a team that’s starting to rediscover its rhythm. The win marked just the second time in two months that the Magic have strung together back-to-back victories, but the way they did it speaks volumes.
For Mosley, it’s a glimpse of what this young squad is capable of when everything clicks.
“I think it just continues to say what we’re capable of doing,” Mosley said. “You look at the other night-we held them to 20 and scored 40.
It’s those things. When you understand exactly how good you can be in these moments, what you have to do.
We can sit and watch this and learn from it-what we’re capable of doing.”
The Magic aren’t just chasing wins-they’re chasing consistency. And if Friday night’s fourth quarter is any indication, they’re starting to figure out how to find it.